The Truth
by pottergrl15
Summary: Tess leaves before the truth of Alex's death is discovered, why did she leave? And what happens when she comes back? Will be a Rebel fic.
1. Chapter 1

The Truth 

A/N: Hi-ya, how is everyone? This story takes place just after Alex's death but with a little twist, Max broke up with Liz and slept with Tess just before the death, but then got back together with Liz just after the fact. Anywhoo, here I go…

The Pod Squad and I-Know-an-Alien club were all sitting at the Crashdown, sipping some drinks after hours. The day's events had been taxing to say the least. Alex's funeral was the worst experience any of them had ever gone through…well, almost all of them. Tess Harding, former Queen Ava of Antar, sat amongst a group of people who she came to view as friends. They were all sitting around telling sad tales of Alex's life, reminding themselves of what he was like, as if they'd forget him after just having seen him only a few days before.

She smiled sadly, gazing at the people around her. Kyle, her brother of sorts sat beside her, listening intently to a story that Maria was telling of Alex and his band. Michael, her boyfriend for the moment sat behind her, massaging her shoulders in a comforting gesture. Liz Parker the once bane of her existence sat beside Maria, holding Max Evans' hand. Max, the king no more, soul mate of Ava, keeper of Tess' heart. He didn't even look at her, he couldn't, not with Liz sitting right there. Tess laughed to herself, Max only chose to see her when Liz wasn't there, he probably felt guilty for looking at all…

And then there was Isabel, sitting next to Max, fist pressed firmly against her mouth, tears in her eyes. Even now, her Ice Queen persona had yet to break. Tess looked at each of them, eyes watering with guilt.

"They can't know," she said to herself, "None of them can ever know. It would put us all in too much danger." She rested a hand on her stomach, the small life growing within her, Max's child. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid as to let that happen, Max seemed so sincere, but then Alex died and Liz needed him, and Tess was cast off to the side as always. She looked back up to the group, studying each of their faces, trying to memorize every feature. She absentmindedly rubbed her stomach, the child was ill, it needed Antar…at least it gave her more incentive to get it over with. The plan needed to be followed through, or all is lost. "I have to do this tonight."

Tess took a deep breath and stood drawing attention from the aliens and Kyle first. "um…" she started, "I'm…I'm going home." There she'd said it.

Kyle looked confused for a moment, before getting ready to get up, "Okay, let me just…"

"No," Tess interrupted, motioning him to stay seated, "I mean, I'm going home…to Antar…"

The group just stared at her as if she were crazy…well most of them. Liz and Maria looked happy, Kyle hurt, Michael and Isabel confused, and Max…well, she couldn't place Max's expression.

"What?"


	2. Chapter 2

The Truth 

"_What?"_

Tess gazed at the Alien part of the group, "I'm going back to Antar."

"Why?" Michael asked, surprising Tess slightly, she had been expecting Isabel or Max to ask that one.

"A lot of reasons," she said simply, "The people need me." The Aliens looked at her with confusion. Tess shook her head, she constantly had to remind herself that they didn't have all their memories as she did. "There is a war going on, on Antar, as you have heard." Her voice started to change, started to sound more regal, "And since the king has failed his duties to lead the people out of a dictatorship, the duty now falls to the Queen."

"You're not the queen anymore," Max said, startling Tess, "None of us are royalty anymore, that part of us died, we're different now, we're…"

"Human?" Tess finished. She shook her head, "You can keep telling yourself that as much as you want to Max, but you're forgetting, I remember." She looked him dead in the eyes, "I remember that there are hundreds of thousands of people on Antar dieing in our names, fighting a war that we should have ended. I don't care if I have human DNA, I'm still part alien, and that part of me refuses to see people die for me. You'd think you're human side would have gotten you three there." Her tone turned bitter. She was tired, cranky, and stressed, she needed to go soon or she'd miss her window.

"How?" Isabel asked quietly.

"There's a translation of the Book that Alex was working on, he gave me part of it before he…" she trailed for a moment, looking away, "It's not much but it was enough of how to get the Granolith working and how to get home. So, I'm going, and none of you are going to stop me." She turned away from them, heading for the door when a Green wall appeared before her. "Don't even try that one on me Max," she said, not turning yet.

"You're not going," Max said simply.

"Yes, I am," she said, turning defiantly to face him. "And this," she waved her hand at the wall, completely destroying it, "Is not going to stop me."

Max stared at where his wall had been, how did she do that?

"I remember Max," She said, answering his unasked question, "And with knowledge comes power, and with power comes responsibility. And I have one, to my people."

"I order you, as king of Antar, not to leave Roswell." Max said in his most regal sounding voice.

Tess just laughed, surprising the entire group, especially Michael and Isabel. All Tess had been was loyal and dedicated to Max's word, and now she was shunning it. "It doesn't work on me Max…oh, wait, you don't remember do you? Or maybe you choose not to." She took a deep breath, staring at the royal three. "On Antar, when you were Zan, you trusted me and loved me enough to share an entire planet with me. The lives of all that world were now my responsibility, my acceptance of your love. That power is divided equally, you and I." She saw realization dawn on him, "Yes, that's right Max, I have just the same amount of power if not more now that you have renounced your claim on the thrown and I have not. You do know what this means don't you? I could have ordered Michael and Isabel to be together, ordered them to leave with me, but I didn't. **I** never enjoyed ordering others around, I never would have kept Isabel here in Roswell instead of in NY."

She glanced at Michael and Isabel, noting how they looked at each other, then at Max as if just realizing what they could have been forced to do. "But I'm not going to order anyone to come with me. If they want to come they can…" No one made a move, "I see…" Tess turned to leave, once again being stopped by the green wall, this was getting old.

She sighed, turning to face Max, "Max," she said softly, too tired to go on arguing, "I don't see why you won't let me go…trust me it is better for everyone." The confused glances from the aliens made her continue. "If I go, you can be with Liz, Michael with Maria, and Isabel can go on with her life. If I go, Kivar will not come looking for you again." She rubbed her forehead, dreading where the conversation was going. "I'm sick, I guess I spent too much time in the pod when we hatched, and my lungs got too used to the Antarian air, I don't know, but I'm sick." She lied through her teeth. She knew she couldn't tell Max about their child, the last thing she wanted was for Max to feel obligated to be with her. And she was sick, the child couldn't survive and Tess refused to get rid of it, in time she would die because of Earth's air. "If I stay I'll die. If I go, I'll probably be found by Kivar and be killed. Yes, I know I'm being blunt, but I'm also being truthful. So you see, either way I will die…but this is good news for you three isn't it?"

The aliens looked positively disturbed, not even able to fathom how Tess' death would be good for them. "You see," Tess continued, "I am the only one alive now that the Antarians would accept a heir from, from Max. To them, he is king and I am the queen. Even if you were to marry Liz they would never accept her as Queen, and as such no offspring of hers would be heir to the thrown. But if you and I were to consummate a child," 'Which we already have,' she thought bitterly to herself, "then it would be heir…So, if I die, there's no heir…"

"And no one to take my place," Max said grasping what Tess had been trying to say.

"Yes," She said, breathing a sigh of relief that he was getting it, this made it easier to get her point across and her argument to win. "And if I'm gone, there is no Queen, and with out a Queen there's…"

"No king," Isabel said, glancing at Max.

"And Kivar wouldn't have to worry about Max taking over." Michael finished.

"Exactly," Tess said, "So, it really is a win-win situation. And if you don't mind."

She turned to go…but was once again stopped by a green wall. 'What is Max's problem today?' she thought. "Why do you want to leave?" She heard Max ask.

Tess held back a scoff, now she was getting angry. "Besides the obvious face of millions of deaths on my head? I remember. I know this doesn't mean much to you three, but it means the world to me, literally. I remember my family, my friends. I remember how they were killed in front of me. You don't remember, but my family was taken a prisoners in one of Kivar's raids, we were beaten, tortured, and starved, all for his sick pleasure." Tess could feel tears well up in her eyes, oh how she wished she didn't remember this part of her life. "I remember a slave riot acting up and my fleeing with my youngest sister. We were all taken in by the royal family, and you healed my sister Max. That was how we met."

Tess looked down, collecting her thoughts. "I remember our courtship, engagement, marriage…Gali was the flower girl," she said, mentioning her sister's name was the string that broke her inner defenses, tears came now. "I remember Kivar's attack on the palace, watching as he killed Rath and Vilondra, how he was torturing me when Gali ran in. He killed her Max, my sister, the only family I had left, and he killed her. He aimed for you next Max," she said, noting the dazed looks on the aliens' eyes as if they too were remembering. "He fired, and I ran. No, you weren't hit Max, I was. I died for you. And you died too. We all did, and I refuse" she said, anger mixing with her tears, "I Refuse! To let Antar rest in his hands any longer!"

With that Tess ran out the door before Max had a chance to put up the wall. She ran as fast as she could. Soon she found herself in the park, she needed to keep going to get to the Valenti's to the car. She was about to resume running when a hand brushed her shoulder. She wheeled around to see Max behind her slightly out of breath.

"Tess," he said, taking her hand.

Tess pulled her hand back, but too late. Her defenses were down, he saw. The flash that Tess had tried so hard to prevent had happened. Max knew, he knew she was pregnant.

"Don't TOUCH ME!" She screamed, running away from him. He was too stunned from the flash to go directly after her. By the time he did, she was gone. About an hour later would find Max sitting on his bench in the park, Michael and Isabel next to him, as a light streaked across the sky.


	3. Chapter 3

The Truth 

Four Months…that's how long Tess had been gone. Tess, once Ava, once the wife of Zan, now the only thing Max seemed to think about. Max had spent many hours lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling as memories slowly returned to him. He had only recovered a few memories, most of them were still fuzzy, but what ever Tess had said sparked something within him. The memories started to enter his mind, slowly, but they were coming. He realized with just the first few memories that Ava and Tess were exactly the same; the same expressions, the same voice, the same personality.

Max lay there, on his bed, thinking of all that had happened in the few months since Tess left. Liz and Maria had gone off on a mission to bring Alex's killer to justice; they believed it to be a murder. And, apparently, a murder it was. They tracked down Alex's killer to Leanne, the Swedish girl Alex had supposedly stayed with. But then, in a bizarre twist of events, it turned out that Leanne wasn't the killer…it was…it was Tess.

When Max had first heard it, he honestly couldn't believe that Tess had killed Alex, much less that she could kill anyone in cold blood. His fuzzy memory did recall Ava had killed, but only as a last resort to protect herself. Tess…she was just too much like Ava to have done that to Alex. But the evidence that they had found was critical in persuading Max of Tess' guilt. They had, in Liz's words, gathered information about the effects of mind warping from observations of Maria's mom Amy, of Kyle, and of accounts of Alex's behavior before his death. They even had an eyewitness account from Kyle, who had apparently been mind warped by Tess. That was what really got to Max. If Kyle, who had been like a brother to Tess, honestly believed that Tess had killed Alex and mind warped him, well, it must be true.

Max shook his head, sitting up on the bed. He couldn't believe that Tess would betray his trust like that. All the things she had done for him, all the support she had given him, was just a ploy to return to Antar with Max's child. He knew she wanted to go home, and Liz had shown him a letter she found in Tess' old house, which she searched once she had hypothesized that the killer might be alien. The handwriting on the letter was similar to Tess', it was a plan about Tess' pregnancy, returning to Antar with the royal four, turning them over, and ruling Antar with Kivar at her side raising Max's son as his own.

That had made Max sick to his stomach, for a month he had been feeling every aspect of guilt for what he had done to Tess. When he had seen Liz with Kyle of all people, he had fled feeling as if his heart had been ripped out by a blender. He had been sitting on the bench in the park for not even five minutes when Tess appeared and sat next to him. She didn't speak, just sat with him. And he was grateful, he didn't want to talk or be talked to. Every time he needed something, Tess had been there giving him just what he needed, be it a friend to talk to, a bully to knock some sense into him, or a wall to lean on. And he realized, as he sat on the bench in the park watching the light shoot into the sky, that he had never even thanked her, not even for destroying all of their enemy skins hell bent on killing them all.

He had spent a week with Tess, since the Liz/Kyle incident, and in all that time he had really gotten to know her better. He smiled to himself as he recalled learning her favorite pie was the odd flavored banana pie, not banana cream, just banana, as opposed to Liz's…well, he really didn't know her favorite, but he had seen her eat Cherry pie…or was it Raspberry? He remembered walking through the park at night, and how Tess could never leave till she smelled the buttercups, the small common flowers that you could find anywhere if you looked. He was never very good at finding them, but Tess…she had an uncanny ability to find any flower, especially buttercups. They were actually very beautiful in their simplicity, more so than the Roses that had to be white for Liz. He always found Tess humming a small song under her breath whenever he met her that week, she loved to sing, she didn't care if she was off key (which she rarely was in Max's opinion), or if she didn't know all the words. That's was one big difference he noticed between Tess and Liz, she was less reserved than Liz and unafraid of what others thought, even of what Max thought to a certain extent.

He shook his head again, he had been avoiding Liz that entire week, and by the end of it, he had seen her with Kyle in the halls of the school. He snapped; he had cut class, dragging Tess along with him. He left; she followed a few minutes later and spent the entire day looking for him. He had kept walking, not really stopping till he saw the observatory. At that moment he wondered if things would be better if he could find a way home to Antar. Never before had he ever thought of Antar as home, but before his thoughts could change, Tess appeared. She led him inside to show him a star that could be seen from Earth and Antar, making him feel closer to his distant home. He had kissed Tess then, and things got out of hand, to say the least. The thought that Tess could be pregnant after their night of passion never even crossed his mind.

He got up, leaving his room, heading for the kitchen for a glass of OJ with sugar. He had just shut the door to the fridge when he noticed the TV in the living room was on, static was playing, the VCR light was on, signaling that a movie was over but not ejected. He shook his head, moving into the living room about to shut the TV off when he noticed the two figures asleep on the couch. Michael was laid back on the corner of the couch, head back snoring lightly, arm wrapped protectively around Isabel who was curled on his chest. There was a blanket on their laps, partially hanging off the couch. "They must have fallen asleep in the middle of the movie," Max thought to himself, fixing the blanket to cover them more thoroughly before heading back to his room.

He smiled to himself, thinking of the one good thing that had come from Tess' horrible crime. Isabel, who had been extremely depresses since Alex's death, had finally begun to show signs of happiness, which could clearly be seen by the small smile Max saw on her face while fixing the blanket. Michael and Maria had been having some…problems, for about three months now, and were currently in a separation period. Michael and Isabel had been spending a lot more time together in the last month. It did have Max a little worried about the whole destiny thing Tess had been set on, but the look on their faces just then…they were happy, even if it was destiny playing out, he didn't care. After all that Michael and Isabel had been through, they deserved a little happiness…

Which only left Max with one question, would he be happy? He didn't know, after everything that happened, he should be glad that Liz still wanted to be with him considering the Tess-as-a-future-mother incident. And he was, truly he was…but still, one thought lingered in his mind.

Tess and Ava, Ava and Tess, one in the same. How could Tess do that to the humans she had come to accept, to the aliens who were connected to her, to him? She killed Alex, and for that he should hate her…but he couldn't, he just…couldn't…

I

I

I

The aliens were on edge lately. A few days ago a rumored UFO crashed; as if the stained relationship between Max and Liz and the established relationship of Michael and Isabel weren't enough, the last thing the aliens needed were more skins coming to get them. Max had been sitting in the dining room with his 'mother and father' eating some TV dinners. Since Isabel was at Michael's, it was just the three of them that night when suddenly there was a crashing noise in the kitchen.

Max's mother, Diane, looked up quickly, "What was that?" She said, asking the question on everyone's mind.

"I'll check it out." Max said moving towards the kitchen, readying himself for anything.

Max walked cautiously through the kitchen, eyeing every darkened area for any skin that might be waiting for him. But, the kitchen seemed empty, so he turned to head back into the dining room when a voice reached his ears, sending chills down his spine. "...Max..." the voice called softly. He shivered slightly, not sure if it was because it was the voice of a murderer or the pleasant sensation that ran down his spine at the sound of the voice, the one he had been imagining in his dreams as of late.

A young curly haired blonde woman appeared from the shadow at the corner of the room, a small baby clutched heavily in her arms.

"Tess..." Max said softly, not believing that the figure coming closer was really her.

He longed to reach out and touch her, just to make sure she was real, but once she stepped into the light, all thoughts left his head. Tess staggered towards him, stepping into the dim light, revealing bruises everywhere, around her eye, on her cheek, all over the arms he could see exposed from the rolled up sleeves of her plaid shirt. She was struggling for breath and Max guessed that she had more injuries yet to be seen, possibly a cracked rib or two..."or four," he mused staring at her battered form.

"Please..." Tess begged, "Hold him..." She gently placed the baby in Max's arms with a great effort just before she collapsed unconscious to the floor. Max jolted forward as if to catch her, but the quiet child he held in his arms, made it impossible to get to her. He looked on helpless, willing someone to come in to hold his child as he helped its mother. As if hearing the silent plea for help, Max's parents rushed into the kitchen.

"Max... What is it?" Philip Evans, father figure of the Evan's children asked, gazing at his wife who was kneeling by an unconscious girl lying on the floor of his kitchen.

Max knelt over by his mother, gently placing the baby boy into her nurturing arms, before scooping up the fragile woman, carrying her into his room. "It's my son."

A/N: Since the aliens didn't have to leave, they never gave their parents the video or made them suspicious of their children, so as far as the adults know, their kids are human. I'm not sure if I want Sean to be in the story yet or not, I'm either going to put Liz with Sean or with Kyle, I don't know yet. Suggestions are welcome. -

Next Chapter: Why is Tess back, what is Max's reaction, will he remember his complete Past?


	4. Chapter 4

The Truth 

Max sat by his desk, watching as Tess turned fitfully in her sleep. He was tired as well; she had had a lot of bruises and cuts all over her body. Her knee had been broken as well as having a fever start to rise. He had done the best he could for her, not able to fully heal her knee, she moved to much when he touched her, almost as if she feared his touch. He shook his head; this was no time to think of that now.

Suddenly Tess bolted up on the bed, "Zan!" She cried. Max wasn't sure if she was having a nightmare about the past or not. It wasn't until she added, "Where's Zan?" That Max realized she was talking about the baby.

"You named the baby Zan?" He asked, softly, not sure whether he should be angry with her for using his past name or happy that she picked a name that meant a lot to her…how could a murderess care?

Tess looked at him, as if just realizing he was there. "Well, he is your son," She said looking around his room, collecting her thoughts, "and that is your real name. Where is he?"

She was looking at him again with those baby blue eyes that seemed to see into his very soul. "In the other room," he replied, then added with a small laugh, "with his very confused grandparents."

Tess leapt off the bed, almost falling as pressure was put on her bad knee. Max moved to catch her however, sitting her down on the bed again.

"...I guess it would be too much to ask you to heal this?" Tess asked quietly, as Max gently rubbed the sore area around her knee. She wasn't sure what was going on, she had gotten the impression that everyone in Roswell…at least those who knew about the aliens, believed her to be a murderer, the killer of Alex. Why was Max acting like this?

Max held his hand lightly over the wound on Tess' knee, a small white glow following soon after. A moment later there was not even a cut to be seen or a scar to indicate that the knee had been broken. Tess stared in shock at Max; she had not been expecting him to actually heal her, as much as she hated to admit it, she had expected him to knock her legs out from under her. She knew it didn't sound much like something Max would do, but when people you care for are in pain, you do things you'd normally never do…boy, did Tess know that one first hand.

"Thanks," She said, looking up into his chocolate brown eyes. They were so close together; she could feel his breath tickling her cheek.

Max didn't know what to do, he was so close to Tess, thoughts seemed to be slipping out of his head as he leaned in closer to her. A quiet baby's cry sounded from the other room, snapping Max back into reality. "I thought the child couldn't survive here." He said, trying to collect his thoughts. He was sitting with a murderer; he shouldn't be feeling the way he was.

Tess stared at him, how could he know that?

"I got a flash when I healed your bruises," He said, explaining how he knew the truth behind her having to leave, leaving her to wonder what else he had seen.

She looked down at her feet, knowing as well as Max that he should be angry with her right now. "He couldn't," she answered truthfully, trying to forget the pain that it had caused them to hear about the possibility of death for the child. To that day it still scared her to think that the child could have died. "But once he was on Antar his lungs healed. He had some treatments to be able to come visit daddy." She said, daddy slipping past her lips in a more bitter way than she had intended.

"You said that Earth's atmosphere was killing you." Max recalled, trying his best not to reveal his doubts about Tess' situation.

"That was true, the baby…it was dieing, and so was I as a result." She said, still refusing to look at him. "It was another reason for me to get home, I had to do what ever it took to save my baby."

"Including killing Alex?" Max shot back, sounding angrier than he actually was.

Tess looked towards the door, where the sound of the crying was getting louder, "I didn't mean to do it." She sighed, tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't believe that they all deemed her the killer. Even more so that Max blamed her. But she had given up fighting. She just wanted to get what she had come here to do over with.

It was what Max said next that made her look up at him. "I should kill you right now." He said, raising a hand to her. He didn't want to, but Alex deserved to be avenged. "He was the first friend any of us had when our secret came out. And you killed him."

For once in the past four months Tess feared for her own life. So she said the only thing that would convince him to spare her, "If you kill me, you kill Zan." She hated to put him in that position, but he couldn't kill her till she told him everything.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, lowering his hand. Glad that he had a reason not to hurt her, even now he wasn't sure if he would have actually harmed her at all…his threat was most certainly empty.

"Zan, we're linked, Max. Physically. If I die, so does he." She looked down, hearing the truth in her own words. If it were possible she would have gladly died to make everyone happy, but once Zan was born, she couldn't. "If he dies, so do I." She added, making Max realize that she did speak the truth. Zan was dependent on her to sustain his life, at least until he was a few months older. But for now he fed off her strength.

That was one thing she had had to learn for herself from the other Antarian mothers who had helped her through her pregnancy. Antarian babies were entirely dependent on their mothers until they reached their sixth month. If the mother was sick or died in childbirth, the child would be sick and die too. It was a little mixed up the other way around though. The death of the mother due to the child's death was based on how connected they were. If a child died right off the bat due to a weakened connection to their mother or a disease that the mother did not have, the mother most likely wouldn't die physically. Emotionally, nothing could fill the gap of losing a child. But if a mother was deeply connected to the child, for example as the last connection she had to the husband, then she might die along with the child.

Tess considered herself lucky, Zan was fine, a nice normal alien birth.

Max let out a frustrated groan before dropping onto the bed next to a shocked Tess. He was angry with himself. Angry for not killing Tess, angry for letting the thoughts of others get to him, angry for threatening her. He couldn't kill her, even if he wanted to he couldn't. She deserved it, she killed Alex didn't she? But still, he couldn't even avenger Alex's death.

His mental belittling of himself was stopped short by a gentle hand on his shoulder. Tess, he looked at her, she gave a sad smile, understanding his situation. He couldn't begin to count the times she must have felt like a failure, especially with Nasaedo as a mentor. He could see the pain in her eyes. He didn't know from what, from guilt? From the past? From him?

"What happened Tess?" He asked quietly. He needed to know, why had she come to him so beaten and bloody. How could he protect her, if she, the strongest of the aliens, couldn't protect herself?

The baby's cry sounded again, drawing Tess' attention to the door. She looked at it longingly as she answered, "When a ruler is gone, there are followers who get angry and want revenge. Let's just say that Kivar's followers are just as cruel and sadistic as him."

She got up to head for the door, knowing that if she stayed too near Max she'd end up telling him the whole truth. Not just about Antar, but about her first week back on Earth, about Alex…

Max watched as Tess stepped beyond the door, knowing that she was headed for Zan. He stood to follow her…when the impact of her words reached him. 'When a ruler is gone…'

Did she…how…is he…

Kivar was…dead? Tess, his Tess had succeeded where they had failed years ago? Antar was free?

He quickly ran after Tess, making it to her just as Diane had handed the baby boy back to its mother. "We're going to Michael's." Max said, quickly grabbing the keys to his jeep.

"What?" Diane asked, startled that she had only gotten to spend but a moment with her apparent grandson.

"Maxwell, we need to talk about this…" Philip started.

"Later," Max said, cutting him short. He gently grabbed Tess' hand and led her silently to his jeep. Driving off towards Michael's hoping to whatever god the Antarians prayed to that Isabel wouldn't freak.

I

I

I

Isabel and Michael had just sat down for a movie after spending a nice evening at Michael's eating a dinner Isabel had prepared the good old human way, when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Isabel said, laughing slightly at Michael's attempts to stand. He had eaten so much of her food; she thought it to be his last meal. He was so stuffed; he plopped down onto the couch and refused to move.

Isabel walked calmly over to the door, "Who is…" Her friendly greeting caught in her throat when she saw who was standing before her… "Tess…"


	5. Chapter 5

The Truth 

"Hi Isabel," Tess said meekly, unable to look the girl breathing hard across from her, straight in the eye.

"Hey," Michael said, finally pulling himself from the couch and walking over to Isabel, "who is…" He had draped an arm around Isabel's shoulders when he saw exactly who it was just beyond his door. Tess stood there, a baby in her arms, just behind Max.

"Michael," She said meekly as well.

Max pushed his way into the apartment, pulling Tess along with him. Isabel grabbed his other arm, stopping him and pulling him to face her. "Max, what is –_she_– doing here?" She asked, barely controlling her anger and hurt.

"Yes Maxwell," Michael said, closing the door behind him, "Enlighten us."

"I…well, I don't know," Max admitted, "She just showed up."

"So that was you that crashed last week," Michael said, glaring at Tess.

She nodded slowly, knowing where this conversation would be headed. "It was an accident."

"With an Air Force Jet?" He asked disbelievingly.

Tess sighed, knowing what he wanted to hear, "It was trying to shoot us down. I don't know why." She sighed again, "A typical human response, I guess. The ship was destroyed, and I…I woke up just as they were about to take Zan." She cursed herself; she hadn't wanted to give away that much information about when she first arrived. At least they didn't know about…

"...So what did you do?" Max asked apprehensively, afraid of what she might say.

"I protected my son." She said, staring straight into his eyes, as if willing him to see the truth of what she had done…or had not done.

"And how many people did you kill in the process?" Isabel spat taking a menacing step closer to her.

"I…don't know..." Tess stuttered, she knew they believed her a murderer, but to hear them accuse her of more deaths, she couldn't handle it.

"How many?" Michael asked stepping up to her as well.

"I don't remember!" Why didn't they believe her?

"How many?" Michael shouted in her face, making Zan start to cry.

Tess shielded the baby, trying to comfort it, "Fifteen, maybe twenty! I didn't stop to count!" There, were they happy now? She said what they wanted to hear, what they would believe coming from her.

"I can't believe we ever trusted you..." Isabel sneered, glaring at Tess.

Tess shrunk back as Max moved to block her from his angry friends, "Enough." He said to them, sending a silent command to back off.

"Why defend her Maxwell?" Michael asked a while later. Tess was sitting by herself on the couch, he back to the boys feeding her son. They refused to let her leave from their view, not even to feed Zan. "She's a murderer."

"She killed Alex!" Isabel added, "We should just…" She raised her hand as if to send a blow to Tess' back, when Max rushed forward to block it.

"Isabel, NO!" He shouted at her.

Tess glanced up from the couch, wondering why Max even bothered any more. She had given up herself. To just hear how much Michael and Isabel wanted to hear that she had killed again had convinced her that she couldn't win. She had been wrong to even attempt to come back and clear things up. They wouldn't listen, and she couldn't tell them now.

She looked up as she finished nursing Zan, Max was heading towards her, he wanted her to tell them what had happened, or at least what she had told him. She sighed and rose, turning to face those who condemned her…

I

I

I

Outside Michael's apartment, a very excited Liz Parker arrived. Things had been a little stressed between her and Max lately. He'd been distant, but it was the night that they had agreed that she go on a double date with Max, as Isabel and Michael came too. Truth be told, she was still angry with Michael and Isabel for what they had done to Maria, but still, she wanted to see Max, and if this was the way to do it, she would. She smiled to herself as she reached for the door…

Back inside, Tess has just finished telling her story to Michael and Isabel when a sudden blast of green sent her flying through the air. She hit the wall hard as Liz stood in the open door way, hand crackling with green sparks. "Get up, bitch!" She shouted, blasting Tess again, "I'll kill you!"

"LIZ!" Max shouted, running in front of Tess, "NO!" He threw his hand out, sending Liz flying into a wall, just as she had done to Tess.

Max stared at his hand, had he really just done that? Had he just attacked…Liz? He had, he realized. It was as if some primal instinct had risen up within him urging him to protect Tess at all costs, from anyone, including Liz.

Before Max knew what he was doing, he was kneeling by Tess, checking to see if she was injured. After her repeated, yet shocked, reassurance that she was fine, Max looked up to see Liz backing out of the door, tears and fear in her eyes.

Max looked away; he hadn't meant to hurt her, but she…

Liz shut the door to Michael's apartment, not really believing what had just happened, that Max had attacked her. Whipping out her cell phone she dialed the only person she could think of talking to, "Maria?" She asked when someone answered the phone. "It's Liz, can you come over to Michael's please. It's an emergency…"

And that was how it came to pass that the Pod Squad and the I-Know-An-Alien club met once again in the small confines of Michael's apartment. Maria had brought Kyle and Jim with her not sure of what she would be dealing with when she reached Michael's. None of them were prepared for the appearance of Tess.

It had gotten dark out as the group argued on over what to do with Tess. She stared out the window of Michael's apartment, watching as the sunset and the streetlights began to come on. Zan was asleep and safe, so Tess tried to tune out the current topic of the group discussion. What to do with her?

It pained her that the majority of them wanted to turn her over to the FBI, it pained her even more to hear that Kyle wished it and Jim wasn't defending her.

She tried to hold in the tears as she listened to the conversation taking place. "I just don't understand why you haven't killed her yet." Kyle said.

Michael shrugged, "The king wouldn't let me." Isabel scoffed.

Maria turned to the group, "No. This is not just an alien decision. She killed Alex. She killed my best friend. I think that we should all get to vote, yes we turn her in to the Feds, no…we pick something else."

Tess shook her head, it seemed as if her prediction of Antar were coming true, either way, she'd die, either way she'd be punished for something she didn…

"No, we can't turn her in." Max said in one final attempt to gain sanity for the group, "They would throw her in a white room and study her like a lab rat for the rest of her life. I've been there. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy." 'How could I wish that for the mother of my child?' he mused to himself as he glanced at Tess' back.

"I vote yes," Maria said, driving the conversation back to a vote that would determine the fate of one woman.

To Tess' surprise, Isabel voted no. She didn't know why, but the look that Isabel sent to Michael suggested the reason.

"I say yes," Kyle said after a moment's hesitation.

"Kyle..." Tess started softly, turning to look at her once brother.

"We took you into our home," he explained, glaring at her with so much hatred, Tess felt as if she were a piece of dirt beneath someone's shoes. "We protected you. And how did you repay us? You brainwashed me into carrying Alex's dead body!"

Tess shook her head vigorously, tears of pain spilling out of her eyes, "I never meant to hurt…"

"Well, too late!" Kyle shouted.

"But you've never even heard my side of the story…" She tried to argue, she needed to tell them, even if they didn't believe her.

"You have a side?" He asked incredulously, "The murderer has a side!"

"I was raised by a killer, Kyle..." she said, trying to make him see what she had to deal with, all that she had to resist, "He was a sick and twisted man but I..."

"Don't play the victim here, Tess." He said cutting her off, "You know, of all the aliens I've met... you're the only one who has no soul."

That hit her hard, to hear her kind of brother say that about her. She turned, not letting them see how much she hurt. She stared out the window, not listening to the voting going on behind her.

She was about to give up and tell them to go find the FBI when a movement out side caught her eye. She placed a hand on the glass window, as if bracing herself for what she might see. A figure cloaked in black was walking slowly down the street and up to the apartment complex.

Tess' eyes widened as recognition, "Oh no…" she thought to herself. "No," she said out loud. The group quieted, looking back at her. "No…no, no, no, no." She repeated over and over. Her hand started to tap the glass, "Not yet, not yet." She then shocked the group by bolting out of the apartment…


	6. Chapter 6

The Truth 

Tess ran as fast as she could out of the apartment, she could tell that Max had followed her, but she didn't care. She had to stop him…she hadn't gotten a chance to tell them yet.

She ran outside, right up to the cloaked figure. She grabbed his shoulders, pushing him slightly to stop him in his trek. "What are you doing here?" she asked. Max and the others had caught up to her, and stood there in confusion. What had she just said? It was some sort of foreign language to the humans; the aliens however were somehow able to understand the rapid Antarian in which Tess and the stranger were now conversing.

"You weren't supposed to come yet!" Tess yelled, "I haven't gotten a chance to tell them!"

"I thought you said that you'd contact them on Antar." The stranger said, the Antarian was slower but the aliens understood it nonetheless.

Isabel stared at the stranger, the voice was oddly familiar.

"I did, believe me I tried, but they think I killed you!" Tess shouted.

Michael was getting edgy, according to what Tess had alluded to she had killed Kivar back on Antar…was this him?

"WHAT!" The figure shouted angrily. "How did they come up with that load of bull?"

"I don't know, something about Kyle and Amy tapping their fingers and…" Tess made a motion of tapping her fingers, giving the humans an idea of what they were talking about.

The figure suddenly let out a curse that even the aliens didn't recognize, "Finger tapping!"

"What are you two talking about!" Maria demanded after hearing her mother's name mentioned.

"Nothing," Tess said, in English to the humans, before turning back to the figure and continuing in her Antarian conversation. "Do you know how hard it was to contact someone when they think you're a cold blooded killer! Even their subconscious wouldn't let me in! Do you know how hard it was to just contact Isabel for you!"

By now Michael and Isabel were beginning to get frightened. Some one that Tess killed who wanted to talk to Isabel, it had to be Kivar.

Apparently the mention of Isabel led the humans to the same conclusion, "What do you want?" Maria asked the figure this time.

"Maria, shut up," Tess said, turning back to the stranger. Effectively pissing off Maria. "I didn't even get a chance to tell them about you."

"What were you doing for the last 12 hours than?" The figure asked.

"After I made it to Max he took me here, Liz called a meeting, and they were just voting on which way would be the best to off me."

"WHAT!"

"What is going on!" Maria shouted.

"MARIA!" The figure shouted in English, shocking them all. "Do you EVER shut up!" The figure pulled down his hood, revealing…

"Alex?" Isabel asked softly, not believing her eyes.

"Hello Isabel," Alex said, glaring at the group, "I can't believe you didn't tell them." He said to Tess.

Tess scoffed and shook her head, "Well, what did you want me to do? Walk up to them in broad daylight saying, 'Hey guys, I'm back, Kivar's dead, you have a son Max, oh and I didn't kill Alex, in fact, he came with me to Antar?' They didn't even let me get a word in. What was I supposed to do?"

Tess turned sharply and stalked back into the complex, fuming at Alex. She knew she should have been calmer about it, but she was reaching her end. She had come back trying to make peace, to be sent into a corner, and having people she cared about plot her demise. She knew she should give Alex more credit, he had given up everything to help her, his life, his future, Isabel…but still, she was tired.

Alex sighed, rubbing his head as he watched Tess walk off. He should have been more lenient with her, she had been through hell and back twice, once with the birth of Zan, and the other when Kivar…

He could still hear her screams in his nightmares, when Zan was born. He chuckled slightly at the memory, Zan, formally Ale-Zander of Antar. He loved irking Tess by calling Zan, Al, she hated it.

He looked up at the group who had been in the process of condemning their savior, and shook his head. "You guys are such…idiots." That was all he said as he pushed past them to go find Tess.

The group stood there, they couldn't believe that Alex was alive. Maria felt the air leave her, just moments ago she had been pushing for Tess' death on the premise that she had killed Alex…but she didn't. Maria felt like she'd be sick, she could have been responsible for the torture and possible death of an innocent woman and possibly a baby. Kyle felt sick as well, all the evil, cruel things that he had said to Tess…he just…what had he done?

The aliens were in no better shape, true they had voted not to kill Tess, seeing her with a child had made Isabel reconsider her previous notions of Tess as a cold-hearted bitch. In her opinion, how could anyone so concerned and loving of a child kill some one innocent. Seeing Tess holding Zan, reminded her of the dreams she had been having of the child she and Michael might have in the future.

The group, completely disgusted in themselves soon found themselves heading back up to the apartment where shouts could be heard coming from Michael's room, he could understand that it was about when Liz blasted her. He sighed, taking the lead, Tess and Alex had to quiet down soon otherwise there would be hell to pay with his neighbors.

As soon as Michael had entered the room, Alex wheeled on him, "How could you guys believe that Tess KILLED me?" He shouted to all of them. They all looked down in shame. Alex shook his head, "I cannot believe you!" he said quietly. He picked up a pillow from the couch and hurled it at the wall. The girls flinched; they had never seen Alex this angry before.

Tess placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, signaling him to calm down. He took a deep breath, "What is wrong with you?" He asked them again, "No, wait, let me guess…scapegoat."

"What?" Kyle asked.

"Tess is your scapegoat, you all blame her for your problems. You find ways to make her responsible for everything, just because she isn't as human as you. Well, maybe you'd do well to remember, she was raised by a killer, a sick and twisted man." He said, echoing the words that Kyle had scoffed at moments ago…yup he felt like a piece of shit right now. "He wouldn't let her show emotions, emotions were a weakness to him. He raised her to believe whole-heartedly in destiny, and because of the way HE raised her, you ignored her."

A baby's cry drifted into the room and Tess immediately went to check on Zan, "Did any of you know that she knew exactly where you three were after she hatched. But Nasaedo took her, he searched for you three, but she KNEW where you were." The aliens looked at one another in silence, each wondering why Nasaedo had never found them till recently. "She never told him," Alex said, answering their unasked question. "She didn't want what was happening her to happen to you three too. She could tell that you were happy, she didn't want Nasaedo to turn you three more alien than you already were. So you three alienated her for being more alien than you were because she protected you from becoming alien, is that right?"

The baby's cries quieted to a gurgling noise, as Tess' quiet laughter sailed into the room. "And the only one who accepted her right off the bat…was me. No Kyle," Alex said cutting off his argument, "You had to be consoled after you discovered she was alien, you were weirded out by her, in her words. I saw her the day that Nasaedo died, she cried, did you three know that? No, I was there for her when her safe haven was taken from her. I was there when we decoded the book, I was there when she found out she was pregnant, and I was there when she found out that the baby couldn't survive here."

The humans gasped, they didn't know that the baby had been sick. "You might remember that conversation Kyle." Tess said stepping into the room, Zan held in her arms. "I'm sorry I mind-warped you, but you couldn't know about the baby."

"I think I remember," Kyle said, eyes squinted slightly trying to remember, "I walked in and you were both crying, Alex said something about the royal four…" He shook his head, unable to remember the exact words.

"I said, 'You are the royal four. You are created from the genetic materials of your alien predecessors and human subjects, you should be able to do something…"

"And I noticed you were by the door," Tess added, sitting down and bopping Zan on her lap.

"You are given human forms so you can survive on earth, what happened?" Alex finished, he stared at the group, "and I often wonder if you three would have reacted as I did to the news that the baby might die See, Tess became one of my best friends, and to think that one of my 'friends'" he said, sneering at the word friend, "could get her pregnant, that she could loose the baby, and that she could have died also, it scared me."

There was silence as the truth dawned on the group; the gravity of the situation had finally hit them. "But what about the other mind warp?" Kyle asked.

Tess looked at him confused, "Other mind warp?" she asked.

"Alex was telling you that you destroyed his mind with your mind warps, and that he'd be better off dead…and you killed him."

Tess' mouth dropped open in shock, "I never…we never had that conversation…did we Alex?" She looked genuinely confused at what Kyle had said.

"No, I never said that, or anything close to that, why would I?" Alex asked.

"But I could have sworn…" Kyle trailed off, wondering where that memory had come from.

Then, it dawned on Alex. He turned to Tess, and spoke in Antarian, "When did Liz start showing powers?"

Tess shrugged, before turning to Max and asking him. Liz was getting uncomfortable after repeatedly hearing her name mentioned.

"A few months now, just after you left." Max replied in English, yet another reminder of the things he still had to learn about Antar, the language included.

Tess turned to Alex, who nodded, an answer forming in his mind. "It's a common female trait among Antarians to possess the powers over the mind. Mind warping, dream walking, it all ties in with the basic balance of life, male and female, mind and strength. My guess is that when Max healed Liz, his subconscious knew that he could never be with Liz, physically speaking, if she was not half alien, so when he healed her he made is so that her genetics changed and she started to gain access to that part of her brain. If she wanted my killer to be alien, and wanted it to be Tess strong enough, she could have mind warped Kyle without knowing it and made him believe he saw Tess kill me."

He turned to face the group, who were looking at him with open mouths and wide eyes. Michael turned to Isabel and whispered, "Is it bad that I understood everything he just said?"

"That's not possible," Liz said, speaking for the first time in a while.

"And why not?" Alex asked.

"I would never mind warp Kyle." Liz said firmly.

"Yeah, and I would have noticed and remembered if she had," Kyle added.

"No you wouldn't," Tess said, "You didn't when I mind warped you. You know I would never mind warp you if I didn't absolutely have to."

It was possible. And the group didn't know what scared them more, the fact that Liz could mind warp, or the fact that she wanted Tess out of the picture so much that she was willing to, subconsciously, frame her for murder.

"Alex," Tess whispered, "I'm going to take a nap. Could you explain what happened to them, please?"

Alex nodded, "Oh course…Good night Al, your highness." He added after a moment.

"You know I hate it when you call us that." She muttered, leaving the room.

Alex shook his head; turning to notice the confused looks on everyone's face. "Oh, yes, I was there for the birth of your child Max." He said, glaring at them. How they could not have gone with Tess, to leave her to fight a war on her own…how Max could let her leave pregnant… "She picked a name is a combination of the Queen's best friend Alex, and of the Queen's love, Zan. You obviously wouldn't know this, but his formal name is Ale-Zander."

He stared down Max for a few moments before sitting on the couch ready to start the story of the hell that had been the last four months.


	7. Chapter 7

The Truth 

Alex stared out the small window in Michael's apartment, watching as the sun slowly started to rise. He shook his head; thoughts of the peace that a sunrise brought would have to be put off till later, he had to tell the group before him the truth.

"Well, as you know, I died." Alex said, starting off the story. "I died because I knew none of you would be willing to help Tess with what she needed to do." He glared at them, still feeling disgust at their reaction to Tess. "Just before Nasaedo died, he helped Tess change me…so that I could survive on Antar for a short while. Enough time for me to help her out."

He could see the confusion in their eyes about why he would help her like that when all they wanted to do was ignore her. He shook his head at them, "You guys are the saddest bunch of humans I have ever seen. I helped her because, as is human nature, you'd like to help those in need. Funny how you three," he said, looking at the pod squad, "wanted to be so human that you ignored the first basic instinct, to look out for others."

He stretched, "So I helped, I changed, and we came up with a plan to get to Antar. I went to Las Cruces to start a translation of the book, while Tess worked on my slide show and story of Sweden. Yes, Liz," He said, cutting off the remark he knew was coming, "I knew exactly what she was up to, I helped her too. I sent her some pictures of Leanne to use for the show. I never thought that you'd think I was killed, so I never thought that Leanne would be involved in your 'murder investigation'. I came back with a good portion translated, and the key to translating the rest of it. Tess helped, and together we decoded the entire book." The excitement in his voice at accomplishing that goal was barely contained.

"It told us everything. The history of Antar, the reign of King Zan and Queen Ava, how to work the Granolith. Everything!" He was smiling now, remembering how happy they had been when they figured it out. "We were able to get to Antar, but we didn't know when or how we'd manage to make me disappear for a few months. So, I faked my death."

The group looked at him as if he were crazy. "But I couldn't heal you," Max said, "And Tess was with Kyle so she couldn't have mind warped me."

"True," Alex said, "But you can't heal something when there isn't anything to heal." He smirked as realization dawned on the group. "You know, I never realized how much ketchup could in fact look like blood." The simplicity of the plan was genius. Tess had come up with the ketchup gag as a joking suggestion, but Alex had gone for it. He reasoned that Max would come to heal him, just based on what the police report would say and what the car looked like, he'd already believe Alex dead. Not to mention, the dimness of the car had helped immensely, only a dark spot on his shirt indicating something like blood.

"So I was dead, and free to leave, and Tess…" He trailed off remembering why they had to make his death so abrupt. A few days later and Tess wouldn't have been able to survive the trip to Antar. "When she found out she was pregnant, she was so happy…but then she got sick. And we knew why, the baby couldn't breathe. We had to push the departure up as soon as possible. We were going to leave hints to let you guys know that I wasn't really dead but we didn't get a chance, we had to leave otherwise Tess would die breaking Atmo."

It finally hit Max just how sick Tess had really been. He had always thought that she'd be there for him, waiting…but she could have been gone forever. She could have…have died.

"So we left, we made it to Antar alright, landed just fine. We were taken in by a small Rebel force just outside the city. You guys cannot begin to imagine the scenery there, it's amazing. There are colors there that we can see here; the water is just like jello, oh man, and the food. God, the Pinkas fruit is so good, it's sweeter than a strawberry but with skin like an apple…it's just…" He trailed again; this was no time to be talking of food. "Tess was watched over by the women in the base, she was pretty pregnant by then, two weeks later she gave birth. You know, one thing I discovered, alien pregnancies only last about a month. It was really weird seeing Tess flat and then a few days later starting to bulge. But the women reassured me that it was perfectly normal. Some of the Antarian's speak English. A few loyalist families decided to learn the language that the Royal Four would be exposed to on Earth. They taught me Antarian. It's actually really easy to learn once you get the pronunciation…" He was doing it again. Trailing off in remembrance.

He sighed, "Zan's birth, though based on the screaming, a painful one, was a relief to the people of the base, the King had given an heir to the people, but they couldn't help but wonder where the king was. They knew I wasn't the king, but they didn't know when he'd arrive. None of you will ever be able to guess how strong of a person Tess really is. Only a day after the birth, she had to get up, before all the rebels, and tell them that the king would not be coming." He paused a moment as if listening for something.

"Do you three know how much it hurt her to have to tell the people who looked to her for hope that their king chose Earth over Antar. They were upset to say the least, they wanted to give up. There was no point in fighting to return Antar to the rightful king if he wasn't even going to come help them. But Tess, she was…amazing. She gave them a speech, crying the whole time, about how she had come to help. The king's spirit living through her and her son. She would fight to free the people, fight to help them. She told them she did not care about her own life if it meant that the people could be happy. She gave them hope."

Alex shuddered; this was where it got bad. "Tess was walking down from her speech platform, when someone bumped into her. She got a flash; Kivar knew she was there. There was a mole in the base that was supposed to see if Queen Ava had returned. She ran to the small group of scientists hiding in the base, the ones who helped make you three. She had them help Zan, she knew that something bad was going to happen, she had them transfer the connection she had with Zan to the only other person she could think of…me."

Isabel gasped, she didn't know why but she had a feeling that what Alex had said was not a thing that any woman on Antar would want to go through.

"It was hell for her, the connection between mother and child is buried so deep, that if feels like your soul is being pulled out of you body in little pieces. It doesn't hurt the child at all, believe me, one of the scientists learned not to mess with Tess about Zan. One of them said that there might be pain for the child, and Tess went ballistic, the scientist was fine, very shaken at being threatened by a small blonde woman, but fine. Tess told them to do it, the Anza Malek, the great transfer. It's what they did with your souls," he said, looking at the pod squad, "It would have been really painful if you four hadn't already been dead. Now imagine, Tess going through that alive." Alex shuddered, recalling the screaming.

"There was no pain for Zan, none for me, but believe me, if I could have taken her pain I would have, the screaming…" He shuddered again. "It was a good thing that Tess did that then, the next day she was taken. The mole had orders to take the Queen, harm no one, just take the queen. He was a genius, Kivar was, to remove the Queen right out from under the rebels, without them fighting. That crushed their spirits. They didn't know what had happened, but the soon discovered. One of their spies in the palace was there when Kivar had Tess dragged down to the dungeons. No, their dungeons are not like what you're thinking. You actually had a close experience to an Antarian dungeon Max." Alex said looking at Max. "You remember the white room don't you?"

Max shivered, memories of the government room coming back to him.

"Oh but it was much worse than that Max." Alex said, voice tight with emotion. "They made you think you saw those you love die, correct?" Max nodded, "They made her live out every possible situation where Kivar could kill the ones she loved. He had the visions planted in her head. He made her feel what ever the visions involved, be it torture, betrayal, you name it. The sick bastard made her believe that everything was fine in one of them, that you three had come to rescue her, only to rip it away. That was almost as bad as the physical torture."

He paused again, listening for a moment before continuing, "Torture the mother, you torture the child, and in so doing torture the mother emotionally to know she is the cause of her child's pain. Tess endured the tortures, knowing that Kivar believed it to be hurting Zan, but it wasn't. Zan was connected to me for that time, and he was fine. But Tess, they beat her, starved her, whipped her, and the worst part. They healed her." The group looked confused at this part, why would healing the wounds be a bad thing.

Michael knew, he had a deep sense that those on Antar who wanted information would do anything to get it. Heal the wounds so that the cuts are fresh tomorrow.

"You understand Michael," Alex said looking at him, Michael nodded. "You heal the wounds so that the next day, the cuts hurt as if they were the first time. It allows the body no time to go numb, to go into shock so that you can't feel the pain anymore. Tess felt everything. This went on for two months. Two months of Hell, where the only way the Rebels even knew if Tess was alive was because of Zan. The connection can't be entirely broken, if Tess died, Zan would have too. He might not have felt her pain, but he would her death."

Alex took a deep breath, it was time to finish. "I don't know everything that they did to her, she wouldn't tell me. The doctors that took care of Tess, told me the basics of what Antarian torture was, but I honestly don't know what might have happened also. In the fourth month that we were there, Kivar decided to show the people their beloved Queen, whom he believed crushed and broken. He called a gathering of the people closest to the palace. He threw Tess in front of them, beaten and bloody, showing them what had become of their great Queen. He stepped in front of her, asking the people where their king was, why he had abandoned them. Tess snapped. I was there, I saw it. Before Kivar could react, Tess had shot a blast at his back. It took all her strength; she couldn't have fired another blast if she wanted. He fell to his knees. Tess stood, she was behind him…she, she snapped his neck. Before the people, the dictator Kivar fell to the ground dead. The people cheered, no one noticed Tess sway. She fell, I caught her. I brought her back to the base to be healed."

The group had gone very pale at this. The girls were crying and the boys felt like vomiting. To think of the hell that Tess had gone through for them to be happy…

"But that's not all. A week later, Kivar's followers had been mostly captured; destroy the leader the followers fall into chaos. A few of the remaining ones broke into the base. They went after Tess, who was watching over Zan. His cries and screams alerted us to something being wrong. We got to them to see three of Kivar's men beating the living daylights out of Tess. Zan was screaming, not because of the connection, but because he understood what was happening to his mother. Tess wanted to be sure that all of Kivar's men were gone before she returned the connection, Zan was safe. Tess almost died, they'd broken a few of her bones, and cut her badly."

Alex paused, holding back the tears he felt about to spill. "She was fine, and the kingdom was back to how it had been, but Tess knew that the people really needed just to know that the king still cared even the smallest bit about them. She agreed to come back here, to see if she could ask you three to come back, just for a day or two, to just speak to the people. She returned the connection with Zan; it didn't hurt any of us this time. Since the connection wasn't really mine to begin with, it didn't hurt me that much. We came back."

"And the jet attacked you." Michael added, as Alex paused to listen to something again.

"Yes," Alex replied. "We awoke as the military was about to take Zan. Tess distracted them as I got Zan out. We agreed to meet in the cabin that I had been hiding in when I was supposedly dead. If Tess wasn't back in a week, I was to come find you three and get you to save her. She came to the cabin a few days later, limping and beaten. I tried to help her, but I'm not a healer, I couldn't even get a C in First Aid. Zan had cried the entire time, he could feel the little pain that the military had inflicted on Tess. But he was fine once she came back. She mind warped the scientist to think she had died on the table. They left the body to be disposed of, and she mind warped the crew to think they burned the body. Tess told me the next day that she was going to find you three, to tell you what had happened. She said she'd call me when it was time to come. But when I didn't hear from her for hours, I got worried, thinking maybe she had been recaptured, so I came after her, and here I am."

The group was silent. They couldn't get the words that were in their heads out. The guilt, the anger, the sadness, nothing.

Alex sighed, "And that's the truth."

"I…" Isabel started, "I can't believe she…for us…how…"

Alex shook his head, "She loves you guys, and she loves her people."

"I can't believe I was going to…" Maria started before an ear-piercing scream tore through the room.

"TESS!" Alex shouted, jumping up from the couch and running into the room where she was sleeping. The group followed to see Tess tossing and flailing on the bed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"No!" She shouted, twitching, "NO! Please, not Zan! NO! STOP! PLEASE! Don't TOUCH ME! Stop, stop! Let GO! Leave me ALONE!"

Alex had grabbed onto her shoulders, "Tess!" He shouted, "Wake up! It's just a dream! WAKE UP!"

"LET GO!" She cried, "Please, please…let go…" her eyes drifted open, glistening with tears. She looked up seeing Alex. "Oh, god, Alex…" She buried her head in his chest, as he wrapped his arms around her, comforting her, protecting her as best he could. "They were…but I didn't…I couldn't tell them…and they…"

"Shhh," Alex muttered hugging her tighter, "Shhh, it's alright, it was just a dream…"

The group stared, watching as Alex tried to comfort the strongest member of their group. The humans, turned away, unable to bear watching the woman who had saved them all cry like that. The aliens watched, disgusted in themselves. It was their fault, if they had only gone with her…

A small whimper escaped Tess as her tears died down, a small whimper that matched the one Zan had just let out. Max walked over to his son…his son. He picked up the small bundle, looking down into the eyes of blue, the same as the mother. The eyes he had grown to miss. Max looked back at Tess, who was babbling to Alex about something.

Alex shushed Tess, laying her back down on the bed, and tucking her in as if she were a child. He stroked her hair as she fell back asleep.

He turned and headed out of the room followed by the group, "See," He said, sitting down on the couch with a grunt, "Hell…"

A/N: Hope you guys like the story, I probably won't be able to update till next weekend. School's winding down and I have a Memorial Day parade to prepare the Color Guard for (YAY Marching Band!).

Next chapter: Will Tess reveal what happened? Will Max remember his past? What will the aliens do?


	8. Chapter 8

The Truth 

Alex had spent the next few minutes describing the process that allowed him to survive on Antar. He had told the group that it could not be done again, seeing the look that crossed Liz's eyes. She wanted to go with Max to Antar if he chose to go. Nasaedo was the only alien alive on Earth that knew how to successfully do that process, now that he was gone, no other human would be able to go to Antar. He told the humans to go home for the day, Tess needed rest, and they'd get no other information from him. They did just that, the aliens however, stayed at Michael's. Alex had told them that Tess had been having nightmares since she was recovered on Antar; what ever it was that Kivar had done to her had stuck with her. She barely made it a few days without having a nightmare. That was why he had been pausing so much during the story, he was listening for signs of the beginning of a nightmare, maybe he could wake her before it got to bad. But they usually always snuck up on her.

Max looked down at his son, sleeping in his arms, before looking up to the door where Tess was sleeping. He stood and moved towards the room. If Alex noticed his absence he said nothing, just continued telling Isabel and Michael all about Antar. It was a secret hope of Alex's that Max would realize just how special Tess was, he knew that, no matter how much Liz loved him, she would have never been able to go through what Tess went through for them.

As quietly as possible, Max peeked into the bedroom, Tess was asleep. Letting out a sigh of relief, Max snuck into the room, laying Zan down in the makeshift crib that Tess had made. It was a good distance away from the bed, obviously Tess knew about her nightmares and feared for Zan's safety.

After making sure that Zan was comfortable, Max tip toed over and sat in a chair next to the bed, just watching over Tess as she slept. He sighed, thinking about all that he had just learned about Tess. He hated himself, how could he have threatened her, how could he have not gone with her to Antar?

He knew why. He had wanted to be human so much that he completely tried to shut out anything alien, including Tess. To him, Liz was the human part he longed to have, but Tess was the alien side he had inside, the half alien hybrid…

And that was when he realized, Tess was just like him. With Liz, he had never been able to be himself, he had always had to hide his alien side. Liz loved that side of him the most…that was probably what got her interested in him to begin with. He recalled something Tess had said during their week together. They had been lying in the park, watching the stars when the topic of how Liz found out about the aliens came up. Upon talking about it, Max realized Liz never even knew that he existed till he healed her. Once she found out that he was part alien, she became very interested.

'Sounds like she wanted to study you.' Tess had said, and Max found himself thinking maybe she was right. Liz only ever noticed him and spent time with him after discovering that he was an alien. And even then, when he had told her not to tell anyone, she told Maria.

As he sat watching Tess' slow breathing, he began to notice just how much he shouldn't have trusted Liz. She had done a lot of things that had let their secret out to other, betrayed his trust. But Tess, she never once did anything, even when she was 'with' Kyle in the beginning, to let the secret out. And then, when it came down to the accusation that Tess killed Alex, Max started to believe it.

He shook his head. When was with Liz, it was as if he could never be 'with' her. She was human, he was half alien. But then with Tess, he never had to hide who he was, never had to hide his powers. They were both half alien, both living with the same fear of the FBI, of discovery.

He looked back to Tess, sleeping calmly but with a pained expression on her face. He moved to kneel next to the bed, brushing a piece of her golden hair from her face. He gently stroked the side of her face, "I promise Tess," he whispered to her sleeping form, "I will never let anything happen to you or Zan. Never. I'll protect you."

Her face softened as if the oncoming nightmare had passed with his fading words. He sat back on the chair, watching over Tess as he promised to do. And that was the sight he saw, the mother of his child sleeping before him, as his eyes closed in sleep.

I

I

I

The sunlight streaming into the small bedroom was what first woke Tess, but the sight before her completely brought her into consciousness. Max was hunched over in a very hard, wooden, chair, arms crossed over his chest, head drooping, asleep. There was a small drop of drool hanging off his chin, making Tess laugh for the first time in a good while.

The sound of laughing snapped Max out of his dreams of a former life, and into a small room with him sitting, very sore, on a chair. He looked up to see Tess laughing at him, and felt something cool hit his hand. Quickly, he wiped the remaining drool from the corner of his mouth, smiling at Tess.

A small gurgling noise from the corner of the room drew Tess' attention, and she immediately got up to check on Zan. She smiled as she picked up the grinning bundle, cuddling him as Max came up behind her.

"Tess," he said, "I need to know…" Tess turned to look at him questioningly, "What happened on Antar?"

Tess gasped, holding tighter to Zan, she did not need this right now. She sighed as Zan grabbed on to a golden curl, tugging on it slightly. She smiled, "You know, Zan is just like you." She said, turning to face Max. "He always wants to play with my hair."

She looked down at the little joy she held in her arms, and thought back to the one glorious week she had been able to spend with Max before it all fell to shit. They had gotten so close during that week; Max had even planned a small walk in the park. He surprised her by brining along a picnic basket and some food. That was one of the best days of her life, for once she felt perfectly at ease and content. They were lying on the grass, just under a huge willow tree near the east side of the park, just cuddling, when she felt a tug on her hair. She had looked up to see Max look away embarrassedly. He had admitted to her that her hair was beautiful, that he had found himself wanting to feel it for a while. Ever since then, whenever they were together, Max would tug gently on her hair, watching as the curls sprang into place.

Unfortunately, or fortunately for her, Zan seemed to have inherited that trait of Max's. "Tess, please," she heard Max say, "I need you to tell me."

Zan chose that moment to start to cry, and Tess took to immediately comfort him. She bobbed him up and down, walking towards a window. The cries still had not subsided when she started to sing a small Antarian lullaby. The cries died down as Max was transported to a different time, to a different life…

"_Antum mei zonto ka, mi non keta. Antan neuk li dondo seri ya." Zan sang to the slightly bulging stomach of his love Ava. He was so happy, they had married a few months ago and Ava had just blessed him a few days ago with the news that he would soon be a Melek, a Father._

"_Zan," Ava spoke, gently stroking his hair as he pressed an ear to her stomach. "The baby cannot hear you." She laughed slightly, "It will not develop ears for a few days now."_

"_I know that," Zan said, trying to sound offended, but failing miserably, "I was present during my mother's pregnancy of Lonnie." He laughed too, "I'm just so excited, I cannot wait till the child arrives."_

_Ava nodded, pulling her husband up from his kneeling position, "You will make a great Melek," she said, kissing him._

"_And you, my love…you will be the best Kela in all of Antar." He repeated her kiss, "Just look at how you are with Gali."_

_Ava laughed, hugging him, "I love you Zan, you know that right?"_

"_Of course," Zan said, "And I you. No matter what happens with this war, I will always love you…"_

Max snapped out of his memory to hear Tess whispering the last few lines of his lullaby, the one he had sang to Ava. He walked over to her quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

A flash overtook him, sending him flying into the side of the bed. He had seen…seen Tess tied hands above her head, back to Kivar…blood flowing down her back as Kivar raised his arm to whip her again…

"Max…"Tess whispered, shaking her head, "You shouldn't have…"

"Tess," Max said seriously, standing up, "What did he do to you?"

She looked down. She knew this was coming, and she knew that she had to tell him, it was for her people. He deserved to know the truth. She even had a sickening feeling inside that he should know about all that had happened to her, all that she had done for him. She could feel a sort of sick pleasure rising within her that she could make Max feel something about how he had treated her in the beginning and what she had done for him now. But she couldn't, she alone had to carry what had happened to her, Max didn't deserve it…

"I…" She started, "I…I can't…" She turned away from him.

"Tess, Tell me now." He said, not willing to take no for an answer.

"I can't, you don't understand…I…"

"Tess…" Max warned.

"No, don't you understand, what Kivar…"

"Tess, tell me!" Max ordered.

"No! You can't…"

"I'll get Isabel to dreamwalk you." He threatened.

"Do you really think she could dream walk me?" Tess asked, incredulously. "I was raised with my powers, practiced in them, I'm much more powerful than she is."

Max sighed frustratedly, "Tess please," he begged, "Just tell me."

Tess shook her head. "I can't Max. I honestly can't explain all of it; I don't want to, I…I don't want to relive it. Please, understand."

Her words came out so tired, so weak that Max felt guilty for having argued so forcibly with her.

"I do." He replied, patting the bed next to him. She sat down next to him, slightly surprised when Max pulled her closer to him. "I'm sorry." And he was. He was truly sorry for everything he had done to her, everything he failed her in.

"I honestly can't forgive you just like that Max," She said, sounding just as hurt as Max felt. "But I've been through too much. As much as I want to, I just can't. It…it hurts too much."

Max nodded, understanding. He deserved it, he deserved worse. They sat in silence.


	9. Chapter 9

The Truth 

Zan gurgled once again, sending Tess' maternal instincts into motion, alerting her to the fact that he was hungry. She sighed, stepping out of the room to see Alex about to knock, "Hey, morning sleeping beauty." He joked, "I was just coming to see if the alluring smell of some human food would be enough to wake you."

Tess shook her head, giggling slightly shocking Alex. "Yeah, food sounds nice, I was just going to feed Zan. What are we having?" She asked following Alex down the hall.

Max stood there for a moment; he felt something just then, was it…jealousy? What was he jealous of? He asked himself. His smarter part of the brain responded with an answer, he was jealous of Alex. Jealous that Alex spent time on Antar with Tess, jealous that Tess was more comfortable with Alex than himself, jealous that Alex was able to get through to Tess and read her like he had never been able to.

Max shook his head, he deserved it. It was his decision not to follow Tess, his choice of Liz over her. A decision he was coming to question.

When Max finally joined the rest in the small kitchen, he was slightly shocked to see that Isabel was still there. He would have expected her to have gone home by now, but the look on her face and the grip she maintained on Michael's hand made Max believe that something was wrong.

"Hey," Max said, pulling up a chair as Alex and Tess started to eat some chocolate chip pancakes.

Isabel leaned over to Michael and whispered something in his ear, his face turned serious and he nodded. Tess chewed her food slowly, noticing the silence between the two.

Isabel turned to face Tess, "Hey, um…" she started, unsure of how to continue. "Michael and I were talking…for a while, about a lot of things…we…um…we…"

She looked over to Michael asking him with her eyes to finish what she started, "We want to go to Antar, with you."

At this Tess started to choke on her pancake. She had not expected this; she had not expected Michael or Isabel to agree to go. She hadn't expected any of them to agree. She thought she'd end up returning to Antar with Zan to tell the people that there were events on Earth that prohibited the Royal three to return with her.

After taking a large gulp of her sweetened OJ, Tess took a breath, "What?"

"We want to go to Antar." Michael repeated. He wasn't sure what awaited them there, but Isabel was determined to return, and Michael wasn't about to let her go by her self, Kivar gone or not.

"Why?" Tess asked, still not sure this was really happening.

"Well…" Isabel started, "I've been thinking about what Lonnie told me, when she came to Roswell. About how I…I…" She took a deep breath, "I betrayed everyone. About how the war was because of me…I want to apologize and have a just punish…"

Tess shook her head and reached out her hand hesitantly before setting it on Isabel's own hand in, what she hoped was a comforting way. She hadn't received a lot of comfort lately, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to give any.

"It wasn't your fault." Tess said with a sad sigh. "Kivar used you, you didn't know."

Isabel stared at her with an expression of confusion coupled with hope; hope that it really, truly wasn't her fault.

Tess sighed again, "Vilondra and Rath were very much in love, and they really were. They were engaged to be wed after Vilondra's coronation day. Vilondra was Zan's younger sister, she wasn't the oldest. She truly didn't want any claim to the throne, Lonnie lied. You should have known after what happened in NY not to believe anything she said. Anyway, Rath knew that a war was coming; he knew that he had to prepare the troops. So, he had to leave Vilondra quite a few times, for many months."

Tess glanced at Alex, who nodded her to continue. "Kivar came to the palace under the impression that he was an emissary from a neighboring moon interested in joining Zan's alliance. Zan wanted to create a golden era, an alliance of all the planets and moons in our solar system. He only really needed a few more moons and one planet to complete it…" She stopped, noticing that she was trailing from the story, "He impersonated an emissary and started to play with Vilondra's feelings. He told her stories that he had 'heard' about what Rath was really doing when he wasn't with her."

Tess paused, gently picking up Zan who was squirming next to her. "Vilondra didn't believe him at first, but…as you have seen with the whole 'I killed Alex' situation, when no one is there to tell the other side of the story, you start to believe what you're being told. Zan found out that Kivar wasn't a real emissary and that he had been bribing the guards for information. Needless to say, he had Kivar removed from the palace; Vilondra didn't know why he was forced to leave. Kivar came to her and begged her to let him in to talk to the King about a way to speed up the alliance. So she did, and she died just after receiving Rath's forgiveness for her mistake."

Tess looked up from Zan to see Max and Michael stone faced with Isabel close to tears. Seeing the pain in Isabel's eyes reminded her of her own pain at Kivar's expense. She rose, handing Zan to Alex to feed as she went to be alone for a moment.

Tess entered the bedroom and stared out the window, fist by her mouth thinking. She heard the door open and didn't even have to turn to know that it was Max who had followed her. "You know," Tess said, glancing back at Max standing awkwardly in the doorway, before returning her gaze back outside the window, "Antar had one of the most amazing preservation techniques. Bodies don't even begin to decay for a good hundred years." She stopped, turning to face him, "When…when Kivar took me…he wanted to show me just how powerful he was. He…he…he took their bodies from the grave." Tears were now falling freely down her cheeks; Max was immediately by her side. "He put my family's heads on pikes leading up to the castle, their bodies…they were…they were left dismembered at the end of the pikes…" Max wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as her tears subsided.

She pulled herself away from him, wiping her eyes, she hated being seen weak. She had been through too much to be seen as a weakling. "So," She said, voice cracking slightly from her tears, "You want to know what really happened?"

Max nodded, he needed to know. Tess shook her head; he'd regret it later. "What Alex said…what Kivar…it was true, but Kivar didn't capture me, I gave myself up."

Max was staring at her, he had believed it from Alex's point of view, that was how Alex and the rest of them had interpreted her capture; that Kivar's men had taken her. He had never considered that she would have given herself up, why would anyone?

"I didn't want to fight, that flash…if I had fought, they would have blown up the base…they…they would have killed Karina too." She looked at Max, again telling herself that he didn't remember Karina either. She sighed, "Karina was my best friend, she was a servant in your castle when I arrived with Gali, she…she watched over the two of us as if we were her own sisters. She was still alive on Antar, she managed to escape when the Castle was taken. I was so happy to see that she made it out all right. I couldn't let her die after fighting so hard for us. So…I gave in when Kivar's men came to get me."

Tess shuddered involuntarily thinking of all that had happened. "They…" she cleared her throat, "They did some pretty basic things to prisoners. They wouldn't let me eat, or sleep for a while. They…they beat me, and whipped me, and…played mind games with me…When I fought back they put me in the cell…a um…a kind of isolation cell for a while or put me in the subzero chamber, to let me freeze to death…or at least close to it…and that's it."

She turned away from him, praying that her general description would be enough for Max. She couldn't talk about it in detail just yet…it was too…she couldn't describe it.

As if sensing Tess' reluctance to talk, Max accepted what she had told him. He stepped out of the room, moving to spend some time with his son as his mother spent some time alone.

I

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I

When Max returned, a sleeping Zan in his arms, it was dark out side. He opened the door to see Tess squirming around on the bed, a nightmare in the making.

He quickly put the baby in his crib before running to Tess' side. He stroked her face gently, as he had done before, but was unable to calm her. She started to struggle against him, murmuring incoherent things in fear to some unseen enemy.

He grabbed her shoulder to shake her awake, when a flash overtook him. In one single instant, all the terrors that Tess had lived through, all the agony and the pain she suffered through, he had seen and felt.

He reeled back onto the floor, Tess calming as if her terrors were passed to him. He sat there breathing deep and fast, images blurring as they spun through his head. He fell on his back on the floor, twitching in pain as if living through all that Tess had endured in a single moment. It was excruciating, when it passed, Max couldn't move. Sweat layered his body, his bones were stiff, he couldn't even lift an arm with out pain searing up it.

So he laid there, at the foot of the bed, next to the woman who had endured unexplainable pain for those she loved. Max's eyes drooped with exhaustion; never had he experienced a flash like that. Sleep over came him, plagued by visions of red blood and cruel eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

The Truth 

Max felt a gentle stroking sensation on his face, his eyes fluttered open. His gaze focused on Tess, who was moving away from him, holding her hand as if burned. He looked at her guilty expression with confusion, sitting up slightly.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, shaking her head. She shouldn't have done that…but he looked so pained as he slept, it bothered her.

"No," Max said, sitting all the way up, "It's alright."

"You shouldn't have done that Max." Tess said, changing the subject, growing serious, knowing what had happened to Max to make him look so pained.

"I know, I'm sorry, but I…"

"No," Tess shook her head, "You shouldn't have, you didn't need to see that…you…"

"Yes, I did." Max said, moving to sit next to her on the bed.

"No, you didn't, you didn't deserve that…"

"You're right," Max said, cutting her off, "I deserve worse. I should have been the one that went through that…I should have…"

"No Max." Tess said, standing up before him. "I had to do it. It was my responsibility, my duty…"

"Tess, it doesn't matter, you shouldn't have had to go through that alone…"

"But it was better that I did," Tess said, starting to pace, "If you three had been there, we would all be dead. I could handle it myself, you three couldn't. I can take care of myself, and I can't let you…"

"Tess, you're not alone anymore." Max said, getting up to stop her pacing, "We're with you now, you can let people in…"

"I don't know how to anymore Max." Tess said, angrily. Blame showing through her eyes, directed at him. "After that, I don't want to let anyone in, it'll just hurt more if it happens again. It's better if I just…"

"Tess!" Max sighed, annoyed, "You need to let me in, I can help. I saw what happened I felt it, I know…" Max looked over at Tess in time to see a white blur heading straight for his head…

Tess didn't take Max's words lightly; Michael and Isabel were rudely awoken by a loud crashing noise, as if something had been thrown at the wall. They ran over to the bedroom door, only to find it locked by alien powers. Try as they might, they couldn't budge it…it must have been Tess' doing. The most they could do was listen helplessly at the loud shouting that resonated from behind the closed door. Isabel looked over at Michael, laughter in her eyes, they sounded like an old married couple having a lover's spat…

…then there was silence…

Inside the room, Tess had raised another of Michael's glass pieces preparing to throw it at Max with angry words…something about invasion of privacy when Max grabbed her roughly and pulled her towards him.

As soon as Tess was close enough, Max silenced her with a kiss. Tess fought the feeling as much as she could, her mouth still working as if continuing her rant, but the glass fell from her hand.

Max smirked into the kiss, pushing his mouth more to hers, knowing that her resistance was weakening. He was right, a few seconds later found Tess responding to the kiss, both getting lost in the sensation as stars exploded in their heads. He couldn't help it, kissing her. The fire blazing in her eyes, the anger and passion that flowed from her, the excitement that she was invoking in him…it felt so natural…

Only the need for air was enough to separate the two from their lip lock. Max smiled gently as Tess rested her head on his chest, shaking her head. "No fair," he heard her whisper.

Unfortunately for them, their moment was disrupted by a small gasp from Isabel. As soon as Max had kissed Tess, her concentration on the door broke. Michael and Isabel stood shocked to see Max, soul mate of Liz Parker, in a heated lip lock with Tess, his past wife.

Max and Tess looked over at the couple staring at them, all four of them laughing a moment later. Tess walked over to Zan's makeshift crib, picking him up and moving out of the room. She had reached a hallway door when she sensed that Max had followed her.

She sighed, shaking her head as she opened the door to the bathroom and turned to face Max. "Max…"

"I…well…I'm just…worr" Max stuttered, not looking her in the eye…

Tess just laughed, "I'll be fine…I'm just taking a bath, and cleaning up Zan. Not so difficult a task that I need your help…"

She disappeared into the bathroom, returning a few moments later. She wrapped her arms around Max's neck in a slow pain-staking fashion. She leaned in and whispered "Although later…" into his ear, letting the suggestion trail. She gave him a seductive smirk…before closing the door in his face as he tried to follow her.

A/N: Hi-ya, soooooo…I had a lot to do this week, prom preps, award ceremonies (beating out the stuck up valedictorian in number of awards…tee hee hee), reviews for finals…but I should have free time this week end.

Sorry if this chappy wasn't that great…I've been sick for about a week now…(stupid required shots for college mixed with allergies, and too much sun not enough water in parades…)


	11. Chapter 11

The Truth 

It was the day Tess was dreading, the day she'd have to face Max's parents and explain Zan. She had only had about three days to heal and recuperate, and now she was about to face…well…two very frightening people.

Tess laughed at herself as she sat next to Max in his jeep, as he drove Michael, Isabel, Zan, and her to meet the parents. She shook her head, she couldn't believe herself. She who survived a possibly fatal alien pregnancy, she who stood before her people to speak of lost hope, she who withstood the tortures of an alien dictator, she who took him out…was afraid of two humans that she could subdue using all the power of her pinky finger?

"Are you alright?" she heard Max ask.

She looked over at her former husband, still unable to believe that he seemed to be choosing her over Liz 'can do no wrong' Parker. "Yeah," she replied, "Just a little nervous, I guess…"

"You?" Michael asked, starting to laugh when Isabel playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Yes me." Tess shot back. She looked down at her son, sleeping peacefully in her arms.

"Trust me Tess," Michael said, "You have nothing to worry about, you took out all the skins and Kivar, I think you can handle two humans."

"Yes, well," Tess trailed, stroking Zan's face, "Never get in the way of a mother trying to protect her children, no matter the race or power status. If a mother feels threatened, she'll attack."

"Mom wouldn't attack you." Isabel said firmly. "Neither would Dad…I don't think…"

"I wish I had a dad…" Tess said softly to herself, unaware that she had said it out loud. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed Nasaedo. Especially how he acted when they arrived in Roswell, when Liz came to the house… '_That was the most affection, fake as it was, that he ever showed me_' she thought to herself.

"Me too," added Michael softly, letting Tess realize what she had said.

She looked at the three aliens sitting around her, the final pieces of the Royal Four. "When he died…" she started, unsure of whether she wanted to continue. "I found skin pieces all over the house…I knew that Kivar had done that…and I knew that it was a warning for him…" She trailed off unable to tell them exactly what Nasaedo had tried to get her to do to them, how he tried to get her to betray her family. "I knew something was going to happen, something bad, but I didn't know what…till New York…"

Max glanced over at his past wife, noting the guilt in her eyes.

"What happened in New York, exactly?" Isabel asked.

"When Max and I were walking, Rath and Lonnie grabbed me and tried to make the scaffolding fall on Max. I tried to call out to him, but Rath covered my mouth. I'm sorry Max…" She trailed, looking away. "I mind warped you to see Liz across the street…" She looked down at Zan before rushing on, "It was the only way I could get you to move in time, it was the only way I could save you. If it were me there you'd not have noticed but I knew that if it was Liz…"

A gentle hand settling on hers broke her from her rant, she looked up to see Max smiling humorously at her, eyes still on the road, "It's alright Tess, you saved my life."

She smiled a small smile, looking down at his hand resting on hers. He moved to hold it, squeezing it slightly, somehow knowing she had more to explain. She took a deep breath, "They took me to where Kivar and Nicholas were connected to their human bodies, and they tried to get in my head and see where the Granolith was. You see…I knew." They looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "Nasaedo told me where it was, just in case something happened, at least I would be able to leave for Antar. I knew where it was the whole time, but I couldn't let them know. So I fought. I managed to get into Kivar's mind, and I saw a plot he was working on. He wanted Vilondra back."

Tess glanced at Isabel, who had gone stiff and a little pale. "I couldn't let that happen so I as soon as I got back I talked to Alex about the book and we got to work on translating it. I was hoping to get to Antar in time to stop him from awakening Vilondra."

"But I thought you said that Vilondra was taken advantage of," Michael said, putting a comforting arm around Isabel, "She wasn't really evil."

"No she wasn't, but Isabel didn't know that then." Tess sighed, "If he were to reawaken Vilondra and had Lonnie plant a seed of doubt at Vilondra's goodness, then Isabel would be susceptible to believing that she loved Kivar and wanted to overthrow Zan."

The group was silent, processing this new information as Max pulled slowly up to the house. They all sat there for a few more minutes, preparing themselves till Max looked over at Tess, "You ready?" He asked, giving her hand one more squeeze.

Tess took a deep breath before nodding, returning his gesture with a small squeeze of her own, before getting out of the jeep, taking Max's hand once again.

I

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The all sat in the living room, Michael and Isabel sitting on two chairs, with Phil and Diane Evans sitting on a sofa across from their son and his…son and his…well, they didn't quite know who she was or what she was to Max, sitting on the love seat.

Tess held Zan as close to herself as humanly or alienly possible, nervously looking from Max to his parents to Zan, yet unable to look anyone in the eye. It was a pity she couldn't, otherwise she would have see pure joy showing through Diane Evans' eyes.

"So Maxwell," Phil said sternly, "Care to explain?"

Max glanced at Tess, who was currently very fascinated with the floor, before looking defiantly up at his father. "Well, it's simple really. I met Tess, I love Tess, we had a baby, and you have a grandson."

"Maxwell…" Phil warned, not liking the tone Max was using with him.

"Sorry dad," Max sighed, "I met Tess in school, and we got to know each other really well…"

"Obviously," Michael muttered, only to be silenced by Isabel playfully smacking him upside the head.

"We got really close, and things sort of…just…happened…" He trailed off, watching slightly amused as Tess' face changed from pale white to rosy red. "I don't regret it," He said, looking back up at his parents, letting them know with his eyes that he didn't care whether they supported him or not.

Phil sighed, "Well, what are you planning to do now?" he asked, hoping that Max had some shred of dignity left that he would do the right thing.

"Well, as soon as we graduate, we're getting married…"

At this, Tess' head shot up and she looked at him surprised. Max stared at her amused at how she seemed unable to keep her mouth from hanging open.

Max heard Michael choke, pretending to gag, on the other side of the room, but ignored it for it was silenced fairly quickly by Isabel elbowing him in the side with a dreamy expression on her face. He smiled, of course he had plans to marry her before graduation, he had already made the decision to go to Antar…most likely indefinitely…after all, where there's a Queen there's a King, and he was not about to loose her again…

Tess couldn't think, she had not been expecting Max to even consider marrying her after all that she had put him through. But there he was, telling his parents that he wanted to marry her. Tears welled in her eyes, all the dreams she had had as a child came rushing back to her, of her very own fairy tale ending.

She shook her head; still not sure she had heard him right. Max leaned over, gently shutting her mouth before dropping a kiss on it. When he pulled away, he raised his hand to stroke her cheek, wiping a lone tear away with his thumb. He smiled; the kiss was all that he had needed as an acceptance of his wish to make her his wife.

Diane rested a hand over her husband's noticing a small smile make it's way onto his face. Even he could see how much their son had come to love the small blonde woman who already felt like family. He nodded, he understood, that was all she could ask for.

Tess' gaze on the man before her broke, when she felt a hand on her knee. She looked over to see Max's mother smiling at her. "Can I hold him?" She asked, hopeful.

Tess stared for a moment, but seeing the acceptance and caring in the aged woman's eyes, Tess nodded, lifting the bundle in her arms to the awaiting hold of his grandmother…


	12. Chapter 12

The Truth 

Tess laughed as she stepped past the door Michael was holding open and into the empty apartment, Max following just behind her. She was so happy, for once, finally feeling safe and content. She had a healthy son, her best friends back, and her love accepting her and wanting to wed her. She felt so high up that she never thought she'd come down…until she noticed that the apartment wasn't as empty as she had first thought.

Liz was sitting stiffly on the couch, apparently waiting for the group to show up. Michael stepped up behind Tess, wondering why she had stopped short when he saw Liz. He mentally cursed himself for not getting his spare key back from Maria…this was not going to end well.

"Hello Liz," Tess said, trying to be polite. She walked to the bedroom to put a sleeping Zan down.

"Max," Liz said leaping up and rushing to him the moment Tess was out of the room. "You have to listen, Tess…she's lying." She waited for the reaction she expected from Max, complete trust in her words…but what she got shocked her.

"What?" he asked, disbelief ringing in his words.

Liz glanced quickly at the slightly open bedroom door, before returning her attention to Max. She leaned in closer, lowering her voice till she was sure Tess wouldn't hear. "I've been thinking…"

"That's never good…" Michael mumbled to himself.

"…about everything Tess said." Liz continued pretending not to have heard him. "There are pieces that just don't fit right, holes in the story, not to mention evidence that we found when she left…"

"When who left?" Tess asked, stepping back into the room, walking over to Max, who wrapped an arm around her waist instinctively.

Liz's mouth dropped open slightly at this unexpected turn of events. She remained that way for a moment before shaking her head to snap herself out of her trance. "When you left," she replied, "I have some things I need to ask you Tess."

Liz quickly walked over to the small coffee table where she picked up a small red notebook. "Is that my Chem. notebook?" Tess asked, slightly confused at what Liz was doing with her old notebook.

"Yeah, it is." Liz said, flipping a few pages, before looking up at Tess. "I thought that Zan was too sick to survive here on Earth, how is he able to now?"

Tess looked taken aback at the sheer accusing/suspicious tone in Liz's voice. "I had some treatments done for him on Antar, enough so that he could survive my trip here. It'll only last about two weeks, but I wanted Max to at least meet his son. Why? Do you think I'd endanger my son?"

"Well it wouldn't surprise me," Liz said bitingly, growing angry at how Max's grip on Tess tightened ever so slightly. "After all, you were the one who said that you were raised by a killer, a sick and twisted man. For all we know you could be as bad as him."

Instead of getting angry, which Tess was sure Liz wanted, Tess took a claming breath. "You know, I read that when it comes to Nurture vs. Nature, especially in 'bad' homes, a child has two options in the end. It can either choose to follow the same path as the parent, because that is all it knows, or it can choose never to act that way knowing full well that it is wrong. I knew enough about what Nasaedo was doing to know I could never bring myself to do the same. I resisted, I fought back, I…"

"Didn't bother to stop him from killing?" Liz supplied.

"Liz," Tess said firmly, "What would you have a 7 year old, a 15 year old even, do? Fight a killer? Risk loosing the only person keeping you alive and semi-safe? Let me ask you…"

"And what about this?" Liz interrupted, rifling through the pages again, before producing a loose piece of paper. Tess' eyes widened slightly in what Liz partook as being fear. She held the paper up to Tess, letting her get a good look at the nefarious plan to turn the royal four in to Kivar. "I found this in your old house. When I compared it to your handwriting in the notebook, it was the same. It's a plot to overthrown King Zan…what do you think of that?"

If the situation were less serious, Tess would have laughed at Liz's words. She had such a focus on pinning Alex's murder on her that she didn't pay attention to the finer details that all would be scientists should.

A small smile made it's way onto her face as she leaned into Max's embrace, and looked up at Liz. "My turn to ask a question, did you happen to notice the y's? The t's? The i's?"

Liz looked at her curiously for a moment before inspection the y's, t's, and i's, in the letter and notebook. At first, they all appeared the same…but then she started to notice the curves at the end of the y. In the notebook, the end curved just before crossing past the stem of the y, but in the letter it went all the way through. The crosses of the t were different too, they were slanted in the notebook but straight in the letter…the dots of the i was slanted as well in the notebook, and a simple dot in the letter… 'Shit…' she thought.

"If you only have one person teach you how to write, it is possible for the handwriting to be similar." Tess said simply seeing the realization dawning in Liz's eyes. She smiled more, "I guess you didn't dot the i's or cross the t's." She said laughing at her own little pun, getting a chuckle out of Michael as well.

This only served to infuriate Liz more. To be embarrassed in front of Michael was one thing, but in front of Max… "What about what Alex said?" Liz added, "What did he mean by he could never be with me, physically speaking?"

Tess sighed, 'So this is what this was all about…' she thought to herself. "We were genetically created to be with each other," Tess started, "Hybrid with Hybrid…we weren't made to be with humans…" She waited a moment, hoping that Liz would get the picture…but she didn't, forcing Tess to elaborate. "Max could never have been with you physically, as in sex," she shuddered, "because our cells are completely different from yours. The reaction between a mixing of the cells would be disastrous…it could have ended in death. The joining would have made one of you sick and dead."

Tess sat down on the couch; this was not a conversation she wanted to be having…ever. It wasn't just the thought of what could have happened to one of the aliens, it was the fact that she knew Max and Liz had strongly been considering it…that much was obvious by Max's reaction to the whole Kyle/Liz situation.

"That's a lie." Liz said simply, eyes blazing with fury as she glared at Tess.

"Oh really? And you would know how?" Tess asked, staring at her in mock confusion, "Kissing Max and getting flashes does in no way make you an expert on Alien D.N.A." Max sat down beside her just then, gently holding her hand; he could tell that Tess was getting angry.

"And you are?" Liz asked, "How do you know? You're still here, so obviously you haven't…"

"Don't even go there Liz," Tess said in a regal tone that shut the brunette up quite effectively. "I was raised by an alien, I think he would know a thing or two…and even if he didn't he proved it…"

"He proved it?" Liz asked, disbelievingly, "Right, because I'm so sure that he had an extra set of hybrid hanging around…"

"He took me to a hospital." Max and Michael looked at her, they didn't know that. "You wouldn't know Liz, but Nasaedo had all the powers that we did, on a smaller scale. The guardians had to be able to protect and teach us. He mind warped the doctors in the hospital to think that I was an older woman who wanted to start a family of her own. He wouldn't let them inject me with anything, but they harvested some of my eggs, and brought in human sperm. The result was…disturbing…" She trailed off recalling how that little escapade had gone. As soon as the sperm made it's way into the egg, it turned black. The cells started to split faster than normal. The scientists had to dispose of the sample fearing a new sort of virus or cancer. "They told me that they couldn't do it, that I couldn't become pregnant…Nasaedo didn't bother to tell me that it was only by humans that I couldn't become pregnant, not by Max. So there I was, 15 thinking that Max wouldn't want a wife that couldn't produce an heir. It wasn't till we got here that he told me the truth."

She glanced over at Max who looked very pale at the description of what Nasaedo had done. Michael was in no better shape. It was only Liz who seemed a normal color; she was just shaking in rage. "That's a lie," she said again. "You just want Max to be with you and are telling some lie to keep him away from me. If it was true why didn't you say something when you first got here?"

"Are you kidding me?" Tess asked standing, truly not believing what she was hearing, "As if any of you would have believed me? You all would have thought I was just trying to keep you separate. You'd both have gotten together just to prove me wrong. Not only did I not want Max to die, I didn't want to think that you were sleeping with my _husband_." Tess was shaking now. How could Liz accuse her of lying? She may have wanted Max, but now Max wanted her. He had her and she had him, what reason did she have to lie now?

"Liz…" Max said, standing next to Tess. "I think you should leave."

"What?" she asked, unable to comprehend the fact that Max wanted _her_ to leave?

"Leave." He ordered, "Now."

Liz's mouth dropped open as she stared at Max, her soul mate, defending that…that…

Her body had already started heading to the door in a daze when she realized what she was doing. But she continued on her journey, refusing to look back at the man who betrayed her.

"Don't let the door hit ya on the way out!" Michael called from his position drinking a Snapple in the kitchen as she stepped out the door, glad to finally be rid of the human danger.

I

I

I

Max stepped quietly into the bedroom where Tess was laying on the bed in a fetal position. Michael was staying up to wait for Alex who was catching up with Maria. They had discussed some things once Tess went to the bedroom to get ready for bed; Max had come to a decision. Gently he shook Tess' shoulder, she wasn't really sleeping, but deep enough in thought as to not notice his presence…a very rare occurrence.

"Max?" she asked, she could tell he had something to say.

"Tess…" he began, "I…I want to remember."

"What?" she asked in disbelief. He had never truly wanted to remember Antar before.

"I want to remember Antar, I want to remember you, to remember the language, the food, the traditions…everything."

"Why?"

"Do you not want me to remember?" he asked confused. She had always been so determined to get them to remember.

"No, I do, but…" she trailed off, unsure of how to continue. "Are you sure you want to remember everything now?"

Max had caught something in her words, "Can you get me to remember everything right now?"

She nodded slowly, after a moment's hesitation. "Why didn't you make me remember that night during the memory retrievals?"

"I couldn't then, I wasn't powerful enough…and you didn't trust me." Max gave her a look; he could tell that wasn't the whole reason. She smiled slightly, their conversation reminding her of Ava and Zan, they always knew each other so well, knowing when the other was hiding something or worried… She sighed, "I didn't want you to love me because of the memories. I wanted you to love _me_, not what you remembered of Ava. To love me the way I loved you, not Zan." She looked down at her hands, "I loved you before I knew that you were Zan. Nasaedo showed me the pictures of you three, when we got all our stuff, the day after I came to Roswell. I didn't even know that you, Isabel, or Michael were hybrids till a good two days after I met you three."

"Tess," Max said, gently, lifting her hands in his. "You don't have to worry about loving Ava and not you. I do love you."

Tess smiled slightly, not really believing him, but trusting him. She lifted her hands to his temples and closed her eyes to concentrate on finding the area of his mind that was blocked off from his past. She smiled in her mind at the sight of Max's mind, so full of thoughts of her and hopes of their future together. She pushed her way through till she came to a blockage. She knew that it was the right place; the V-shape star pattern shimmered just out side of it. Using her status as Queen, she broke through the blockage, freeing the memories of the King.

Tess opened her eyes to see Max's still closed. She gently stroked his face. He brought his hand up to hold her's to his face, leaning into her touch. His eyes opened focusing on hers. He brought up his other hand, gently wiping away a tear with his thumb before asking the one thing that ensured he remembered…

"Ava?"

A/N: Hi-ya, I don't know if the whole Nasaedo demonstration of Alien-Human pregnancies makes sense…I made it up, lol.


	13. Chapter 13

The Truth 

Max sat silently, chin resting on his hands, in the darkened room, watching the outline of Tess' figure rise and fall with her gentle breathing as he had done since she fell asleep. He couldn't believe he remembered…he couldn't believe he forgot! He had been an idiot. As soon as the words left his mouth, Tess smiled sadly and lay down to sleep her worst fears confirmed.

It wasn't till an hour ago that Max realized that he had failed to tell Tess that he wanted to return to Antar _before_ the memories were returned. If he told her now, she'd think it was because of the memories, but it wasn't…but how could he prove that to her. How could he prove that he loved her now as Tess, with the same strength that Zan had loved Ava?

Tess gently turned over in her sleep, a hair falling onto her face as she rolled on her side. Max knelt by the bed, reaching out to brush the hair behind her ear. He sighed; he'd have to do something, anything to prove his love for her now, not what she had been.

He gazed at her hair, the beautiful golden curls that first set her apart from every other girl in the school, the first thing he noticed about her…followed by her eyes. He smiled at her hair, the curls were slightly limp from all she'd been through, but still was as gold as the first day he had seen it. Golden like the sun…like gold…like the buttercups Tess loved so much…

'That's it!' Max thought, jumping up softly with an idea. He quickly made his way out of the bedroom, waking up Michael and taking him with him on the way out.

I

I

I

Isabel sat irritably in the booth at the back of the restaurant. Max just had to call her and wake her from a good dream. She shivered slightly when she felt Michael join her; sliding in next to her…it reminded her of the dream. It was her favorite, she and Michael at the cliffs and…then it cut to her holding a small baby boy with Michael…

"You okay?" she heard Michael ask.

"Yeah," she replied, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "I don't know what Max was thinking calling me at the god forsaken hour of 3 a.m., to meet him in the park and look for buttercups? Buttercups of all things!" She sighed, taking a long drink from the sweetened coffee before her.

Michael laughed at her irritability. "Well, he's a man in love apparently."

She sighed, Michael was right. Max was in love with her best friend Tess. She knew that Max was trying to make it up to Tess over not believing that she hadn't killed Alex. She had tried to think of everything to make it up to Tess, no one had believed that she killed Alex more than her…no one felt guiltier. But then, Tess did seem to forgive her after Isabel mentioned that both her and Michael wanted to go to Antar. She figured that if Tess had still been angry or hurt at what Isabel had believed then she wouldn't have to her the truth about when she was Vilondra.

Isabel bit her lip nervously. She wanted to go to Antar, really she did, she wanted to make it up to her people for the war, for her cowardice of not wanting to go back earlier and help. But she was scared, so very scared that the past would repeat itself, that she might end up betraying everyone again without knowing.

"You okay?" she heard Michael ask again. She looked up into his eyes, seeing concern and worry and something else swimming in them. She nodded a little before Michael wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Izzy…"

She sighed, he knew her too well. "I'm just…nervous I guess. I…I'm scared."

"About what?" Michael asked.

"About Antar. I'm scared that something will happen…that I'll…I'll…"

"So something stupid?" Michael supplied, laugher dieing on his lips as he saw the helpless, vulnerable look in her eyes. He hugged her close. "Nothing is going to happen."

"But how can you know that…"

"Isabel," he cut her off, raising her chin so that she would look him in the eye. "Do you trust me?"

"What?" she asked.

"Do you trust me?" he repeated. She nodded. "Good." He said, "Then believe me when I say that nothing will happen. I won't let it."

"You won't?" she asked, still the slightest bit uncertain.

"No, I'll protect you, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise. I don't know what I would do with out you…I…I…" he took a breath, he was about to tell Isabel something that might make or break their budding relationship. "I love you."

Isabel stared at the man before her. A man she had known through two lifetimes, a man who loved her for two lifetimes. A man she loved as well. "I love you too." She whispered, leaning in and pulling him into a kiss.

When they pulled away, they were smiling. And they continued to do so even as a PMSing waitress took their order.

I

I

I

Tess awoke to the glorious smell of blue berry pancakes wafting through the slightly open doorway. She sat up slightly in bed; looking over to the empty crib that Zan had been placed in last…EMPTY!

Tess jumped up out of bed; leg caught in the sheets enough to give her time to notice the small note on the bedside table.

_Tess,_

Before you freak out, Zan is with Alex visiting his other grandparent and Uncle…Jim and Kyle. I hope you're hungry; I have a surprise for you…

_Max_

Tess squinted in confusion at the note, not able to fathom in the slightest what Max could be planning. She placed the note down and carefully crept out of the room. She tried her best to hold in her laughter at the sight of Max in an apron…and the fact that it was probably Michael's, but it was just too funny when Max turned around to reveal that the words _Kiss the Cook_, had been embroidered on the front. She burst out laughing, soon noticing the dinning area.

"What is all this?" She asked looking at the stacks of Blueberry pancakes in the center of the table, with what looked like strawberry smoothies mixed with Tabasco sauce in the cups next to the plates. There was a vase filled with Buttercups, yellow and white, even some rare red and pink ones scattered about.

Then she smelled something coming from the direction of the oven, "Is that a Banana Pie?" she asked, stepping closer to Max.

He smiled, slipping off the apron and wrapping his arms around her waist. He nodded, leaning in to kiss her. When they broke apart Tess sighed contentedly, "A girl could get use to this…"

He laughed and led her to the table. They ate and laughed, ate and talked, ate and just enjoyed the feel of being together again. Once the breakfast was finished, the pie was brought out, and devoured within a few minutes. If anything, Tess learned that Max was an amazing cook.

Tess put down her fork, pushing her empty plate forward. "Why did you do all this Max?" she asked.

Max sighed, "I just…I wanted you to know that I know you. I love you, and I want to be with you forever, not Ava. I love you, Tess, like Zan loved Ava, but I, Max, love you." He took a breath, "I wanted to tell you before, that I…I wanted to go to Antar also. I didn't want you to think that I was going just because I remembered. I want you to know that I want to go because I want to, not because Zan does."

Tess searched his eyes, looking for any trace of doubt or lie…she could find none, he was telling the truth. And that meant more to her than anything in the world. She smiled, and Max knew that she accepted his words.

"So…" she started, "What have I missed down here in Roswell?"

Max laughed, "Well…ever wonder why Michael has so much Snapple around here?"

It wasn't until around 4pm that their conversation was interrupted. Kyle and Jim had come to drop off little Zan. Tess had laughed herself silly upon seeing her baby son dressed head to toe in football garb, they had taken him to his first and probably last football game…

A/N: Yay! I think that the next chapter might be the last; the pod squad leaves Earth for good, but not after helping Alex with one little thing…


	14. Chapter 14

The Truth 

Tess smiled contentedly as she watched Max and Isabel recording their last message to their parents. They were going home today, she couldn't believe it. After all this time, the royal four were going home. Tess looked down at the sleeping bundle in her arms, her precious Zan, her son, Max's son. She had been on earth about a week and a half, his treatments wouldn't last more than a fewdays, and so she was even happier to leave now.

Michael appeared, next to Isabel, holding her as she cried a little after saying her speech, it was Max's turn. Tess felt a tug on her curls and looked down at Zan who giggled up at her, like father like son. She glanced back at Max, he'd just finished. He looked at her, it was time to go.

They had all piled into Max's jeep and headed out to where the Granolith had been, according to Tess that was where the new ship was positioned. The ride was silent, but not an awkward silence but more of a content silence, she never expected the three aliens to be happy to leave with her…or to leave at all. She hadn't expected a lot of things, Max's love, Isabel's forgiveness, Michael's support, or Max unlocking the memories of Michael and Isabel.

The day that Max remembered, as soon as Isabel and Michael came back to the apartment, Max asked if they wanted to remember Antar. Oddly enough they agreed, and Max, as Tess had done, broke down the memory barrier. There were some tears and reminiscence that followed.

The jeep pulled to a stop, shaking Tess out of her thoughts, they were there. She looked out to see her family, Kyle and Jim, standing there waiting for her to say good-bye. She saw Maria and unfortunately Liz there as well. As she stepped out of the car, she saw Alex there leaning against the rock that held the ship, he looked sad.

'Of course he's sad,' Tess said to herself, 'He can't go back and he can't go forward. Nasaedo's treatment wore off, and the town still thinks he's dead.' Then a thought struck her, 'Unless…'

Tess smiled as a plan formed in her mind. She turned to Max, handing over the now sleeping Zan. He looked at her questioningly, but she gave a smile and nodded at Alex. And Max seemed to understand, something Tess still had yet to get used to; Zan and Ava knew each other, but she never expected Max to know her like they did.

"Hey," Tess said, as she walked over to Alex.

"Hey," Alex replied, hugging her close. He had bonded with her over the last few months; she was like a sister to him. "So...you're leaving now?"

"Not yet," Tess said, smiling, "There's something I still have to do."

Alex looked confused when Tess closed her eyes, reaching up and placing her hands on either side of Alex's head, but he trusted her and closed her eyes as a warm glow emanated from Tess' hands.

A small bright light drew Liz's gaze away from Max's happy form cradling his child to Tess doing something to Alex. Her hands were on his head and they were glowing. She was doing something to Alex! Her grip on Maria's hand tightened significantly as Maria too looked over to Alex.

Tess smiled; glow leaving her hand, as she looked up at Alex, removing her hands. Alex opened his eyes, knowing what Tess had done for him, and grinned. He wrapped his arms around her and swung her around in joy.

"What did you do to him?" Tess heard Liz ask. She turned to see the bane of her existence heading towards her, suspicion evident in her eyes.

"I didn't do anything to him Liz," Tess replied, glancing at the three aliens who were headed towards her.

"You mind warped him didn't you?" Liz asked accusingly.

"Liz, enough," Alex snapped, quite frankly he was getting fed up with her never-ending accusations of Tess' and theory of her ulterior motives.

"But what did she do?" Maria asked, in genuine curiosity.

Alex smiled, "I'm not dead anymore!" he shouted barely able to contain his excitement. "Tess sent a mind warp to everyone in Roswell, so that they don't remember my funeral or death. I'm back!"

"That's great!" Maria shouted, hugging her best friend.

Tess smiled, Alex deserved this after all he had done for her. She felt an arm wrap around her waist and looked up to see Max smiling proudly at her. "It's time to go." He said, nodding towards the rock that the Granolith was hidden in, Michael and Isabel had already opened it and gone inside.

Tess smiled, turning to hug Jim and Kyle one last time before joining Max. They too headed into the rock, closing it back, with one last look at the humans.

They turned to face each other, smiling. Max held out his hand, which Tess took immediately. They turned and headed toward the large glowing purple cone which Isabel and Michael were waiting in…

_14 earth days after Queen Ava left to request the presence of the once and future king of Antar, King Zan, she returned bringing with her the beloved Princess Vilondra and her betrothed General Rath. There was much celebrating throughout the planet, the joining moons, and members of the Alliance upon the announcement that the King, Princess, and General would remain on Antar. Queen Ava and King Zan were recoronated upon the eve of their wedding, as were Princess Vilondra and General Rath reinstated upon the eve of theirs. King Zan resumed his work on the completion of his Alliance, completing it on the day his second child, Princess Deinera was born. The King and Queen had three more children, Prince Neo and the twin Princesses Mara and Nayla. The Princess and General had two children; fraternal twins Princess Skyla and Prince Malek. The Royal Four had returned to Antar two moons after the fall of the dictator Kivar, working to return the planet to its former glory. The Alliance was completed, Antar was healed, and the Golden Era that King Zan had strived for finally came to be. It was an Era that was led and lasted through the descendents of the Royal Four._

A/N: Yay! I finally finished! Sorry for the long delay, I had finals and Extra Credit Calculus to boost my grade, followed by Graduation! Yeah Class of '06! Oh god…college in two months…:(


End file.
